Ed Edd n Eddy X
by Extra Zero
Summary: Causality is a principle but its recognition is in itself, a concept. But perhaps the better term is Destiny. The main characters of this story are a handful of teenagers, whose lives are forever changed when they participate in a particular exam. Ed Edd n Eddy X is a tale full of adventure, drama and thriller as Team Ed explores the nature of good and evil. -Alternate Universe-
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci and each respectively owner.**

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_**Table of Fonts**_

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Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with_ Underlines - Flashback.

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_In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will._

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**｢ ****July 24th, 1996, CN City, United States ****｣**

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_Burning cities, slaughtering men, women and children, and even the animals' whimpering after help could be heard. Flames whipped in an almost hypnotic fashion around a man with black hair and blue eyes like the sky; scarlet and gold colors that made him almost calm, tired, and despite the heat that was scorching his skin. _

_He had several cuts and bruises around his body. How had this even happened, anyway? The man could not even remember a fire burning in a single fireplace in CN City, much less on the rooftops and the ground._

_"This can't be... All of this... All of this... It can't be..." The man thought, his eyes were empty, tired and... Hopeless._

_Gray bits of dust floated in front of the man, surrounding him protectively. Staggering, and with blazing trails, tears began to fall down his face as he would wander around the city, in search for any sorts of survivors, let it be a human or an animal for all he care. He shouted, hoping he could find somebody in this wreckage of a city. Unfortunately though, the only sounds that answered his cries were the crackling of flames and the whoosh of soot flying into the air._

_"Julia... I have failed you... I couldn't even grant you your one final wish..." The man muttered, breathing heavily. Julia, just by mentioning that name stuck his heart like a dagger. "What good are you for if you can't perform a single miracle, God?!"_

_"Quite a beautiful sight, don't you think?" A feminine voice enquired, making the man turn around to face the source of the voice. Right before the man, stood an androgynous man. He is of average height, has a somewhat athletic toned build and his skin is as red as blood. He has long silky black hair, amber eyes and feminine features that surpasses that of women's, which makes it hard to tell he is a man. Like the other male, he had several cuts and bruises. Probably after a great battle against him. _

_"Just look at that." He said, looking at the crimson red skies. "Project Sefirot is about to begin. The absolute destiny apcopalypse has finally arrived after ten years; Soon this world will be ridden from misery, and become a brighter place!" The man exclaimed, as his twisted smile widened even further as Adam's "Wings of Light" extended into the atmosphere of Earth, scattering disembodied souls. "A world with no lies, a world without death, a world without conflict. Soon enough, everyone will become one in both mind and body!"  
_

_"What's the matter, "Hero of Justice"? Don't you have any back-up plans left to save the day?" The androgynous man taunted, laughing out loud._

_"Actually..." The man spoke up, glaring into the androgynous' man's eyes. His eyes were blazing with determination, as he would reveal three huge orbs in his hands. The first one was black, the second was white and the third and last orb was green. The androgynous man's eyes were wide with horror. "I got one final plan..."_

_"Where did you get those Orbs?!" The man enquired, glaring into the man's blue eyes._

_"You got to thank Maria for keeping those Orbs safe inside of her." He responded while smirking in victory._

_"That insolent filthy homunculus girl... So what if you got the Orbs of Recreation? It's useless for a petty mortal like you!" He exclaimed, smiling. "Even if you managed to use the Orbs' powers to it's fullest extent, it'll drain out all of your energy in the meantime until your life force hits zero! You'll die as a result." The androgynous man started to laugh out loud again, his evil laughter echoed across the city._

_"Whatever it takes to stop this genocide..." The man started, "And put an end to you and the Ragnarok Organization once and for all, I am more than willing to risk my very own life!" The man exclaimed as he would levitate into the air and fly into the atmosphere of Earth where the Wings of Light where located._

_"Grrr..." His eyes glew yellow, his body was surrounded by a shroud of strange aura that was the color of the sun - orange. "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHH!" The man would scream as the Orbs of Recreation started to shine. _

_"That man..." The androgynous man muttered, looking at the skies with widened eyes._

_ "I'LL NEVER FORGET THIS, YOU HUMAN SCUM! NEVEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" The entire planet of Earth was illuminated, light shining all over the seven continents until at last, a big explosion arised making everything go black._

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**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

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**_Author's__ Note: _**Welp, that's the prologue of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_. I know, I know. It wasn't that long, but I promise it'll be in the next chapter hopefully. My goal for the next chapter is, let's say, 8000 words, and if not 8000 words then let it be 5000. Anyway, this story will perhaps be my longest running story with each arc lasting 25 chapters if not more. This story is most likely to last 100 something chapters with side stories and prequel.

Also, the characterization of the characters featured into this story are different from their cartoon counterparts including their personalities. I will make them more realistic, giving them this humanesque feeling. There are changes made to the characters' history, motivations and environment. So don't mind if they are a little out of character, it is an Alternate Universe fanfiction after all so anything is possible with this sort of fanfiction. It follows it's own canoncity.

Having watched all current episodes of SSJ5G's fanfiction known as _Ed Edd n Eddy Z _on YouTube, I felt this urge to make my very own action packed Ed Edd n Eddy fanfiction, but instead of the usual _Dragon Ball Z_-esque action this fanfiction will instead be more of a tactic-action series with plenty of character development. I have plans to change the main character role for each arc. Starting with Eddy then Double D, Ed and other characters outside of the Ed boys.

Also, this story may be Rated M for Mature later in the future chapters. Perhaps after the second story arc which will be darker and edgier, I can gurantee you. Until then, it is Rated T.

Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	2. Chapter I: Departure!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.**

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_**Table of Fonts**_

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Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

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_Fearsome monsters... Exotic Creatures... Vast riches... Hidden treasures... Evil enclaves ... Unexplored lands... The Word "Unknown" holds magic. And some incredible people are drawn to that magic. They are known as... _

_Hunters!  
_

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**｢ ****July 27th, 1996, Amazon Rainforest, South America ****｣**

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_The man's ears would flick at the whispering sounds of birds chirping, gradually becoming louder and more definite as he awoke to the sunshine shining on him. "Where... Am... I?" A low hiss and groan was uttered from his lips as this newfound consciousness brought him pain. _

_Intense pain. Screaming pain. Burnt skin tinged by fire and over sensitive burn wounds in his flesh made the blades of grass and twigs beneath him like daggers jabbing into his limp body. "... That's right... I fell down from space once Project Sefirot started..."_

_He struggled to move, coming up with fruitless agonizing attempts and struggles just to find out where he was. Eventually going slack once more and forcing himself to rely on his other less painful senses. Singed nostrils picked up a certain musk in the air, that of trees and dense greenery. _

_Blood. Lots of blood. As he listened closer to the arid sounds of the wild birds, he could not make out anything familiar about the calls and related them closer to the ones he had heard on the wild nature shows broadcasted on the television. Though his lack of earthly life was obvious, he had enough brains to know that in his current environment, he would be an easy target for predators._

_The man was injured and completely helpless. __He was alone in this post-apocalyptic world with no one to guide him. __The woman he loved with all of his heart was gone, the only person who gave him a purpose is dead, and there is no way to bring her back._

_"Julia... I saved the world... But... Despite of that I am still not happy. I lost you and Maria in return..." He clenched his fists until his knuckles started bleeding. His jawline was tight as he grit his teeth, holding back his tears. _

_"Being a hero... Is a curse..."_

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**｢ ****June 13th, 2006, Neo Townsville, United States ****｣**

******| Morning |**

**************｟ 10:24 AM ｠**

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There had to be a reason why one particular boy would be all by himself during the day. It was not a choice made by Eddy himself, but rather the choice of his peers and even of those older than him. Adults, who should understand how harmful it is to ostracize a child, shunned Eddy even though he did nothing but stand there. The adults would often warn their kids to stay away from that "monster" for whatever reason they gave their children. They would imitate their parents and point fingers at Eddy and call him a monster, psychopath and et cetera.

"..." At town functions, Eddy would stand in a crowd but not really be a part of it. A circle of emptiness would surround him wherever he went. That was something the Ed boy could never escape, no matter how hard he tried.

The one thing Eddy used to love as a little kid was to swing. It was something that had made him smile in such a pure, bright joy it could rival the sun. It was as if a baby just recently opened a present on Christmas. The way the branch would bend slightly with his light weight, the rough hand-made rope that was tied around the tree's thick branch, the smooth, cool wood that was just the right weight to sail through the sky without any effort, this all made him love the swing. It felt so free for a boy trapped in loneliness.

But soon, the loneliness crept closer and closer into his heart until the swing was his only companion. Instead of seeing the swing as freedom he saw it as bondage. He had no where else to go. Nothing else was out there for him. Nothing else was so true to him but that one swing under the big tree that shaded him in even the hottest temperatures of the summer days here in Neo Townsville.

He would sit in that swing and watch the other children with a growing darkness in his heart. He resented the other children for their happiness. He resented the parents for their cruelty. He resented the world for making him live through such a life. How else should he have felt for being so left out, so alone?

_"I'll kill them..."_ Was the first thing that came into Eddy's mind. _"__I'll kill them and everything they hold dear..."_

"Is this seat taken?" A soft feminine voice asked into the clear summer air making Eddy snap back into reality.

"..." Eddy would not respond, he did not turn around to see who it was. In the end, nothing mattered. They were all the same.

"I take that as a yes." The feminine voice responded, sitting on the swing next to Eddy. Her hands would grip the claning metal chains as she would let out a yawn, stretching her legs. "It sure is a nice day, don't you think?" She enquired but the spiky-headed boy didn't answer her question.

Eddy could feel the girl's gaze, it was like she was piercing into his soul. Everything around Eddy was silent, the only thing that could be heard was the whoosing sound of the swing the girl next to him swung with. The Ed boy would glance at the girl who sat next to him, a golden haired girl who is clad in a blue sailor uniform. A girl whose eyes are blue like sapphire.

"I wouldn't say it's a nice day, it's rather warmer than usual..." Eddy spoke up, "Sure, the skies are clear blue, the sun is shining across the city but the air is rather damp today."

"I see." The girl responded as she abruplty stopped swinging around and turned to look into Eddy's greenish blue eyes. Her azure eyes were curious and seemed to analyze everything.

"What's wrong?" Eddy asked, narrowing his eyes. The girl would shook her head when she heard the question. She responded with a simple 'Nothing', but Eddy had a feeling in his gut that this girl had more questions to ask beyond her limits. Shrugging off the thought, Eddy would once again look into the girl's sapphire eyes, his cerulean blue eyes were full of curiosity. "Why are you talking to someone like me?"

"Why? Yeah, I do wonder why..." She said, thinking. "Who knows... Maybe I just wanted to talk to you. I don't know..." The golden haired girl trailed off, looking up at the clear blue skies. Yes, why was she talking to this boy she knew little off in the first place? This boy who is nothing short but a juvenile delinquent according to her peers? Was it out of sympathy or compassion? It was probably because of the former.

"Does it really matter? Do I need a reason?" She enquired.

"I... guess not..." The Ed boy responded, his eyes were glued to the ground as silence would surface. Things were awkward for both the stranger and Eddy until the golden haired girl spoke up.

"I don't think we have introduced ourselves before." The girl started, "I'm Bubbles. Bubbles Utonium. You may recognize me as a member of the Powerpuff Girls." She said, smiling at the spiky-headed boy.

"Edward... Edward Russo. But you can just call me 'Eddy' if you want to." Eddy responded, shrugging his shoulders.

"And yeah, I've heard about that little group of crime fighting superhuman girls but I never expected to meet a member of that group in person." He said.

"Eddy... Eddy..." The Powerpuff Girl, Bubbles, would mutter. Her eyes were shut close as she muttered the boy's name thrice in a row. "Eddy, I'll stick to that. Thank you." She said, smiling. Silence would once again surface. The silence that hung in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a stick at anytime.

However, the silence was once again broken as Bubbles spoke up, "Soo... Eddy..." She started, catching the attention of the spiky-headed Ed boy. "Are you going to participate in this year's Hunter Exam?" She asked curiously.

"Hunter... Exam...?" Eddy asked with confusion. He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow as Bubbles continued.

"The Hunter Exam is a yearly event that one must pass in order to become a "Hunter"; an elite member of humanity. These exams consist of several tests and stages. So far 296 Hunter exams have taken place with 297 on the way." She explained, flicking her index finger upwards. "If you pass the Hunter Exam, you get a Hunter License which is very beneficial." The golden haired girl stated.

"How come?" Eddy asked, now this was starting to get interesting, even for deadpan snarker Eddy.

"According to the Professor, the Hunter License grants the holder the following benefits: One: 95% of all public facilities can be used at absolutely no cost. Furthermore, all such services are provided at first class. Two: Unrivaled freedom to travel around the world. Access is granted to about 90% of countries which normally restrict the entry of outsiders, and access to 75% of areas that the general public is prohibited from entering." She paused as she would continue shortly after.

"Three: The holder holds almost no legal responsibility for murder. Four: The ability to sell the Hunter License as a valuable collector's item. Though only the original owner of a Hunter License can take advantage of the normal benefits, it can be still sold for enough money to support the seller for at least 7 generations in luxury. Four: The ability to use the license as collateral for a zero-interest loan of 100 million dollars at any bank. Five: Access to the secret Hunters-Only Websites, where secret intelligence about various subjects, uploaded by other Hunters, can be purchased." She explained.

"And on top of that, upon obtaining a Hunter License there is no need to attend school anymore as your occupation is to hunt after treasures, fearsome and exotic creatures and the such." She said, looking at Eddy who stared at Bubbles in shock, his mouth was wide open like a goldfish upon the information he received. Services at first class? Freedom to travel around the world? Zero-interest loan of 100 million dollars?

Eddy's eyes lit up with dollar signs in them as he would exclaim, "HOLY SHIT ON A SHIT SANDWICH THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY!" His scream could be heard across the cites, the scream started to quiet down as the birds began to fly away and squirrels hid themselves.

"You know... You could warn me before you start screaming..." Bubbles said, glaring at Eddy with her ears covered. "Eddy?"

Eddy didn't listen to Bubbles, he was caught in his own little world. He had a wide smile plastered on his face, his body was shaking in excitement and his fists were clenched until his knuckles started to bleed. Upon becoming one of these "Hunter" guys, Eddy could learn his life in eternal luxury for generations. He could get money, women, fame, no, just about anything he desires just by flicking his fingers!

"We're gonna get rich... Ed, Double D and I... We're gonna get rich this year! Cash, women, fame. _Everything_!" The boy exclaimed, jumping off the swing. It swung back and forth with the new propulsion of its fleeing occupant. The spiky-headed boy would turn around to face Bubbles, his azure blue eyes were blazing with determination as he spoke up.

"Bubbles... I finally found my call in life... I'm going to become a Hunter! As a Hunter, I can earn money as easy as eating pie." He said, smiling wide.

"Yeah, good luck passing through the hundreds of contestants and tests." Bubbles said, rolling her eyes. "From what I heard, those who didn't pass the Hunter Test never came back alive."

"Doesn't matter. I'll pass this test no matter what!" Eddy declared as he would turn around and head off to find Ed and Double D. 'Even if I have to bring myself to kill them...'

"Ah! I'll see you around then!" Bubbles exclaimed, waving to the retreating Ed boy. _"He isn't that bad like the rumors are trying to suggest..."_

The golden haired girl sighed, and jumped off the swing. Heading back home.

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**｢ Eddward's House ****｣**

**| Afternoon |**

**********｟ 13:45 PM ｠**

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The Ed boys were gathered around the dining room table that was laden with Thai takeout and drinks, filling their plates. Ed chatted excitedly about an eight-hour marathon of monster films that is to be broadcasted on television later, this evening. After they were done eating, everyone commenced to cleaning up the table. After they cleaned up the dishes and utensils were put away, after being washed and dried Ed's parents headed for the living room to settle down to watch some television.

With Edd's family members gone to do their business, Eddy started talking in a matter of fact voice about those Hunters, elite members of the humanity and the benefits of gaining a Hunter License.

"I see..." Edd said, nodding his head. The ski-hat wearing boy scratched his chin in thought as he spoke up. "This Hunter License sure sounds beneficial. That's for sure." The boy said, making Eddy nod his head in agreement. "But, what I fear is this Hunter Examination. From what I heard, only 25 percent of the contestants manages to escape with their lives while six out of five hundred passes."

"Percentage is bullshit and you know it, Sockhead!" Eddy started, slamming the table. "We can pass this test! I know we can! Besides, we got Lumpy here on our side, so we'll pass the test in no time!" He said, patting Ed's shoulder.

Speaking of Ed, let's specify his physical appearance. Edward "Ed" Horace Hughes is a tall 15-year-old teenage boy, standing a strong 5'7" height. He has cantaloupe orange hair which is kept unkempt and turquoise eyes. His clothing consisted of a red and white striped t-shirt covered by a dark olive jacket with brown lining on the inside and white sleeve stripes on the outside. He always wears it, despite of the climate.

"Being a Hunter sure sounds handy, Double D!" Ed exclaimed with a wide smile plastered on his face. "I wonder how much gravy I can get for hundreds of million dollars..." Ed trailed off, thinking. His mouth would water like a waterfall just by the thought of an unlimited set of gravy he could consume in a lifetime.

"You can get all the gravy you want after you've become a Hunter, pal!" The spiky-headed Ed boy exclaimed with great enthusiasm.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I am not going to participate in this oh-so called _Hunter Exam._" Edd said as his eyes slide shut and crossed his arms. "The Hunter Exam is rumored to be a treacherous exam; meaning we can get ourselves killed at anytime. When we are eating, sleeping and so forth..."

"Listen Sockhead..." Eddy started, looking into Double D's forest green eyes as he continued, "We'll stick on this exam together. We've been through everything together since Pre-School. From the ankle-biters of the Cul-De-Sac to the huge ass explosion that appeared out of nowhere ten years ago." The short Ed boy said as silence would surface. Eddy quietly rose from his chair and headed out of the dining room in a slow pace.

"H-hey, wait! Were are you going? Haven't you heard me? The Hunter Exam is a treacherous exam; deadly! You'll only get yourself killed as you advance!" Edd asked, rising up from his chair and grab Eddy's shoulder with a firm grip.

"I'm going home to pack my stuff, and that's final." Eddy answered, escaping the ski-hat wearing boy's grip which was slightly loosened.

"I don't know about you guys, but I am going to become a Hunter whether you like it or not." The spiky-headed boy started, "With all the money I earn in the aftermath I can become anything, I can become the impossible, I can get everything this world has to offer me! With money I can see a world beyond this city, with money I can even become a man of my own." With that said, Eddy would head out of the house, and run home hurriedly where he would begin to pack his stuff. His mind is set on his goal, and he was at the point of no return.

"For crying out loud! That guy never listens..." Edd muttered, his eyes averted. Once his goal was set, there is no turning back. Perhaps his biggest flaw was that he is so burningly passionate about everything that they his goals may seem to be larger than life itself. He would give absolutely everything he got to attain his goals, regardless of the obstacles.

"... Well, what do you have a say in this Ed...? Are you going to participate in the Hunter Exams as well?" The ski-hat wearing boy enquired, looking at his orange haired friend. A look of utter disapproval was written on his face.

"I'm sorry Double D, but I'm going too!" Ed declared, rising up from his chair. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am not going to let this chance slip away." The Ed boy paused, turning around to face Edd. "All my life I've dreamt of a life full of adventure, like those you see on TV; an never ending adventure. I can finally get away from home and see other worlds. Nobody is there to lecture me! And on top of that, an unlimited set of gravy!"

'He's only becoming a Hunter for the condiments... Am I the only person on this group who has common senses?' Edd thought, giving himself a mental facepalm.

"Besides, you want to get into a good university and get this PhD degree to attend Medical School, right?" Ed asked, which the ski-hat wearing Ed boy nodded his head in response.

"Well, you got this opportunity to fullfil you dream. Your future is insured as a Hunter; you got the required money to get into a good university and get this PhD stuff or whatever it's called. You don't actually have to hunt, you know. You can get this Hunter License and continue studying." The tall Ed boy said, heading out of the dining room.

"It's okay if you don't want to, but I am heading out along with Eddy." With that said, Ed headed out of the house and went home immediately leaving Edd behind.

"... Is anyone listening to me!?" The ski-hat wearing boy exclaimed in frustration, he could not help his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Idiots. Thinking that the Hunter Exams is as easy as to count to one, two and three. Fine, let them get themselves killed for all he care. He could care less about those idiots and their decision. "... Damn it!"

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**｢ Port of Neo Townsville City ****｣**

******| Evening |**

**************｟ 18:54 PM ｠**

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The ferry eased to a halt in the harbour, gliding over the orange-and-red-shot water as the sun eased down in the sky to rest for the night. Eddy shuffled from foot to foot, waiting for the ferry to dock and the plank to be set, anxious, excited and nervous and probably every other frantic, ill-ease descriptor he could think of.

Confused at the disturbance, Eddy would rub his stomach, wondering where this feeling had come from. Out of nowhere, the sensation increased. This feeling was not strange in a bad way, but every time he thought of the Hunter Exam, he got this strange feeling that butterflies are caged in his stomach.

'There are so many contestants for this year's exam... Some that could even give Ed trouble...' The spiky-headed Ed boy thought, analyzing the people inside the Ferry Terminal. His clothing attire consisted of a blue-colored long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, a pair of brown jeans and cream-colored sneakers. He had his backpack strapped onto his back. His face had several minor bruises.

The boy looked through the room and saw some familiar faces. One of those familiar faces were one of Double D's friends, Dexter, if that's his name. Another one was that wannabe hero in his class, Ben Tennyson with his cousin Gwen. There was also that weird kid who always spoke to his goldfish, Timmy Turner. Outside of them, he knew nothing of the other contestants.

"Yo, Eddy!" The spiky-headed boy heard a familiar voice call out for him, making him snap back into reality. Turning his head around to face the source of the voice, it was none other than Ed running towards Eddy. He came to an abrupt halt as he a few feet away from the spiky-headed Ed boy.

"Sorry... It took me so long... It was hard to convince my mom to participate in the Hunter Exams..." He said in between his pants as he lifts his head to look up at Eddy.

"When I said to my parents I'm leaving they didn't took it so lightly... Sarah started throwing stuff against me... Mom yelled at me while Dad said it's okay to go... Phew..." The boy sighed. He cocked an eyebrow, and stared at Eddy with his eyes full of curiosity. "What happened to your face?"

Eddy just shrugged his shoulders, showing indifference over his bruised face. "Meh, I told my Mom that I'm leaving and she didn't take it so lightly either." He paused, "She was pretty upset when I told her that I am leaving, my Grandpa, like your dad, Ed, took it lightly though. Anyway, enough about that. I'm happy you tagged alone." He said, giving the tall Ed boy his trademark smirk.

Nodding his head, Ed smiled and analyzed the Ferry Terminal, "Boy, there sure are lots of tough looking contestants..." The orange haired boy commented which Eddy nodded, keeping an careful eye on the contestants. One particular person especially.

That person was a girl who has blonde hair that goes up on the ends with a black headband. Her hair is curved into a style resembling devil horns. She has crimson red eyes that could pierce through even the strongest souls, and she was dressed entirely in black, and gives the cold, distant impression of someone who has have a strong sense of self.

This enigmatic girl looks like she is going to give both Ed and him trouble, the best option is to keep distance from her until the final phase of the Exams.

The other boy next to her, however, the one with the huge awfully pink nose shouldn't be a problem for the Ed boys to handle. He looks too stupid to even know what's going to happen once the Exams begin.

"Eddy!" A familiar voice called out, it was soft and calm. Turning his head around to face the source of the voice, Eddy saw Bubbles moving towards him along with a redheaded girl, waving.

'It's that girl again... And the other one from yesterday...' The spiky-headed boy thought, sighing as he would wave back with his right hand while his left hand was dug into his pocket. "Are you really going to participate in the Hunter Exams?" The golden haired girl asked, curiosity getting the best of her. The boy forced a smirk in response to the girl's question.

"You bet I will." Eddy said, nodding his head. "I'm going to become a Hunter and earn tons of money."

"Is this girl a friend of yours, Eddy?" Ed asked, looking at the spiky-headed boy.

"Yeah, I met her not so long ago. She was the one who told about this Hunter stuff." Eddy responded.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Bubbles Utonium!" Blossom exclaimed, giggling as she would be smiling brightly up at the tall Ed boy. The golden haired girl offered the boy a handshake. But instead of accepting the handshake, Ed pulled her into a bear hug instead.

"The name's Ed and I love to smell my fingers after I eat cheese!" The tall Ed boy exclaimed, letting go of the Powerpuff Girl. He had a goofy smile plastered across his face.

"Riiight..." The redhead responded, rolling her eyes. She would scratch the back of her head awkwardly, as she would shake the boy known as Ed's hand. "Blossom Utonium, pleased to make your acquaintances Ed and Eddy."

"But what about you? Why are you here though? Are you two going to participate in the Exams too?" The boy enquired, just as curious as the golden haired girl.

"Yup!" Bubbles exclaimed, nodding her head. The golden haired girl smiled brightly and nodded her head in encouragement. "I want to become a Hunter so I can get my very own amusement park!" She declared, her eyes started to sparkle in jubilation as she would continue. "I want a successful amusement park that would be known across the globe; One that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year~!"

Blossom shakes her head in response and waves her hands in disagreement. "Oh no, I am not going to participate in the Exams. Honestly, I have absolutely no intention of becoming a Hunter anytime soon. Not now, not never." She would say, pausing before continuing shortly after. "If anyone's going to participate in the Exams, it's my sister, Buttercup, over there. The one who's wearing green and Bubbles." She said, pointing to a girl with short jet black hair and peridot green eyes. She wore a light green, high collared athletic jacket adorned with several buttons and a pair short black leggings.

"Huh... Two crime fighting heroes participating in an exam for aspiring Hunters..." Eddy said, much to his surprise. "Aren't you two satisfied with the money you guys are earning being heroes and the such?" He asked, which the girl would once again shake her head in response.

"We are heroes, not mercenaries. There's more in being a hero than just money and fame." Blossom said, "We chose to become heroes because we have this urge to save lives... We want to see the smiles of the people who're crying after help. The poor people with no future, every living being... Though, that's only in mine and Bubbles' case." She paused, before she continued shortly after. "We can't say the same for Buttercup though. It looks like she was only in the entire hero stuff for the money and violence."

"Surely, it's good to have money and the things that money can buy is good too. However, there are things that even money can't buy for you..." She trailed off, catching both Ed and Eddy's attention. Blossom snapped back into reality as she felt the boys' stare pierce through her soul. "Ah, but why am I telling you guys stuff like this?"

"Who knows? Maybe we're just good listeners!" Ed said, smiling at Blossom who smiled in return.

"ATTENTION ALL CONTESTANTS!" A tremendous voice boomed that got everyone's attention. It was a man, probably a security guard to insure nobody's cheating. Silence followed.

"The captain told me that it's time for you to board! Anyone caught without a pass will NOT be permitted to enter the Hunter Exams!" The guard exclaimed, everyone started to whisper from one to another and the atmosphere in the room was so tense. In fact, it was so tense that if you walked in there you would have been suffocated.

"To those of you who're participating in the Hunter Exams, please step forward! The Preliminary Phase is about to unfold! We are leaving this instant!" With that said, a long plank had been lowered to the ground and the contestants walked up, one by one, flashing their pass.

"Sooo... I guess it's time for you guys to leave, huh?" She asked, which the Ed boys nodded their heads slowly in response.

"Yeah, it's time for us to leave this city." Eddy said solemnly, "We shouldn't waste anymore time here, today is the day."

"I'm so psyched right now I can't stop jumping, you guys" Bubbles exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. The golden haired girl got very excited for a moment, but then fell on the floor with her face first. "Heh, heh... I'm okay." She said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly as she would drag herself up from the floor with some difficulty.

"The first step of becoming a Hunter... Our first step into the future..." Ed added, his fists were clenched and his eyes were blazing with determination. "A future of GRAAAAAAVY!"

"I'm off, sis..." Buttercup said, giving Blossom a quick pat on the shoulder. She would shoot Eddy a death glare as she would say the following, "Edward of the infamous Russo family, am I correct?" She said as Eddy would return her glare. Blue eyes met green.

"I don't know what sorts of business you have with my sisters, but don't get on my bad side or else I'd make sure you come back home with more than one fractured limb, capisce?" With that said, the raven haired Powerpuff Girl left, walking up the plank to the ferry.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles shouted, trying to reach out to her but she was already gone.

The redheaded girl would shut her eyes close as she would heave an unenthusiastic sigh. "Eddy, please excuse..."

"It doesn't matter. It's her problem, ain't it? Let's go, Bubbles... Ed..." He said, as he would turn around to walk up the long plank followed by Bubbles and Ed.

"Wait!" Turning around, Bubbles, Ed and Eddy would see Edd. "Wait... For... Me..." He said, breathing heavily. Sweatdrops running down his forehead like bullets. It looked like he was running all the from home to the port.

"Phew... I think I've lost ten pounds..."

"Double D? What are you doing here?" Ed asked, looking at Double D all surprised.

"What... Does it look like...?" The ski-hat wearing Ed boy said in-between his pants, digging into his pocket to take out his pass. "I'm coming with you guys... After some hours of careful contemplation I've decided to tag along with you guys." He said as both Ed and Eddy would cheer on their ski-hat wearing friend.

"However! I'm only participating in the Hunter Exams to pursue my goal, to become a doctor. I'm only here for the Hunter License, nothing more." Edd added.

"Fair enough." Eddy said, "So, are we going or what?" He would smirk at the ski-hat wearing Ed boy who nodded his head in response. They would walk up the long gangplank only to be stopped by Blossom.

"Bubbles, Ed, Double D and Eddy!" The redhead shouted, the group would turn around to look at the girl, smiling at them encouragely. "Best of luck!"

"Thanks!" The tall Ed boy nodded his head, smiling back at the redhead. He would give her the thumbs up before turning around to climb onboard the ferry, followed shortly after by Bubbles, Edd and Eddy. Minutes would pass as the other hundreds of contestants would climb aboard the ferry.

Blossom felt time was running slow as the final contestant climbed aboard the ferry. Slowly, the ferry would drift away from the dock. Everyone waved to the departing ferry, bidding their farewells to their loved ones.

"Who were those boys you spoke with, Blossom?" A soft and gentle voice spoke up. Blossom squinted as she turned around turning face to face with her old kindergarten, Keane. A grin splitting the raven-haired woman's face. Next to Keane stood The Professor, Utonium.

Said scarlet haired girl would shake her head, a faint smile plastered on her face. "Oh, no one special."

As the ferry drifted away toward its destination to wherever God knows it'll lead them, the Utonium family watched the sun setting on the horizon, the beautifully orange sunset glistened over at the horizon in the perfect end for today. Crisp yet cool air gently breezing through the city. The skies were painted with vivid colors of red, pink, purple, black and orange.

"Welp, with them gone shall we head home now?" Keane asked followed by, "I'm starting to get starving." Her stomach was growling, she would scratch the back of her head sheepishly while rubbing her stomach as a sweatdrop appeared on her forehead.

The redhead would nod in understanding, "Yeah, we should probably head home now. Shouldn't waste anymore time here." With that said, the Utonium family would turn around and leave the Ferry Terminal, heading back home.

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 **EXTRA **********」**

* * *

**Name: **Edward "Eddy" Skipper Russo.

**Date of Birth: **8 August, 1994. (12)

**Height: **148 centimeters. (4'10")

**Weight: **40.6 kilograms. (88 lbs)

**Blood Type: **AB.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student, Con Artist.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Confidence Trickery.

**Grades: **Below Average.

**Favorite Food:** Confectionery.

* * *

**Name: **Eddward "Edd/Double D" Marion Gabriel.

**Date of Birth: **20 February, 1992. (14)

**Height: **158 centimeters. (5'2")

**Weight: **40.3 kilograms. (43 lbs)

**Blood Type: **A.

**Occupation: **High School Student (Freshman Year), Con Artist.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Confidence Trickery, Building, Repairing, Studying, Reading.

**Grades: **Above Average.

**Favorite Food:** Boysenberry and Grape.

* * *

**Name: **Edward "Ed" Horace Hughes.

**Date of Birth: **22 April, 1991. (15)

**Height: **170 centimeters. (5'7")

**Weight: **50.9 kilograms. (110 lbs)

**Blood Type: **B.

**Occupation: **High School Student (Sophomore Year), Con Artist.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Confidence Trickery, Eating, Sleeping, Video Games.

**Grades: **Below Average.

**Favorite Food:** Gravy and Buttered Toast.

**Favorite Movie: **Any sorts of Monster films.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**And here you have it folks, the first of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_. This time, this chapter was a little longer than the prologue. It's slow-paced, I know, but the story has just started and I have to introduce all of the main characters for this story.

Also, just like how SSJ5G added _Dragon Ball Z _into his fanfiction, _Ed Edd n Eddy Z_, I decided to add _Hunter x Hunter _into this fanfiction. What is _Hunter x Hunter_ you may ask?

Well, it's a really great anime/manga series by the famous Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of _Yu Yu Hakusho_ which I presume some of you may seem familiar with. I've watched the 1999 adaption over and over again and never quite get bored of it. It's truly amazing. But the 2011 version is even more amazing.

The story follows protagonist Gon Freecs, who leaves his home after his 12 year birthday and takes on the task of entering the Hunter Exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death to become an official Hunter. He befriends the revenge-driven Kurapika, the doctor-to-be Leorio and the rebellious ex-assassin Killua in the exam, with their friendship prevailing throughout the many trials and threats they come upon taking on the dangerous career of a Hunter.

I would highly suggest you give Hunter x Hunter a shot, unlike Yu Yu Hakusho which is action-packed like Dragon Ball Z, Hunter x Hunter is more of a tactic-based series which requires little to no action.

Anyway, time to answer my reviewers' questions.

* * *

**************「 **REVIEWS **********」**

* * *

_Mr. Ingenious: This looks interesting. However I'm curious to ask, did you get inspired by the fanfic Ed, Edd, n Eddy Doujinshi? Because some of the lines in this first chapter seem similar to that fic's first chapter, but with significant differences. (I'm not saying you're copying or anything, it's just that I noticed it looked similar to that fic, that's all.) __But none the less, I look forward to more and to see where this story goes.__  
_

Answer: I am the author of Ed Edd n Eddy Doujinshi. I deleted the story because I found my former writing style appalling. It was still a prototype and my writing was still evolving at that time.

_Matfix: Huh interesting so this was inspired by the popular Ed Edd n Eddy z only this time the Eds are actually the main characters instead of the cousins. I don't understand why alot of the dialogue is underlined but maybe that's just your style of writing anyway good job so far._

Answer: The underlines are just my unique way of writing. Notice that I tend to change scenes with the underlines.

* * *

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	3. Chapter II: The Storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.****  
**

**I made some small, yet significant changes back in Chapter I. With that said, have a nice read!**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢ ****August 3rd, Somewhere in the Ocean, North America ****｣**

**| Morning |**

**********｟ 10:07 AM ｠**

* * *

The ferry sailed calmly on the sea, the breeze was gentle, simply serene, but it was enough to keep the ship moving. Seafowls glided across the ship, theirnoises quite breaking the silence on the ship. Forest green eyes kept blankly staring at the endless horizon in front. "..."

There was always a limit as to what one person could endure. There was a limit to the amount of torture Eddward could endure. There was a limit to the amount of laughter he could endure. There was a limit to the amount of grief he could endure. And most recently, he discovered there was also a limit to the amount of ocean he could endure.

Who knew that being in a ferry for eight long days would quite literally make the ski-headed boy seasick? Let alone frustrating accompanying Ed and Eddy for more than one day? Well, it was. He could feel both his stomach making a noise that sounded like a cat dying and head weird tapping sensation from his head. "... Urgh, I knew I should have stayed home." The ski-hat wearing boy groaned, he was drenched in sweat as he would turn his head around to see what Ed and Eddy were up to.

They were working on their speed. Bubbles was fishing, Eddy had been running up and down the boat and Ed was throwing punches in the thin air. Direct punches. They were also drenched in sweat, but they continued to work at it. But little did they know that someone was watching them. Three enigmatic figures watched the group minding their own businesses with intensity in their eyes.

_**"You think it's those three boys the weird gypsy lady was talking about?"**_ One of the shadowy figure enquired.

**_"Most likely. And ugh, the dumb blonde Powerpuke Girl is here too!"_** The other shadowy figure snorted in disgust.

_**"We'll inform the boss when we get back to the headquarters. Until then, we'll behave like any other contestant in this exam."**_ The third shadowy figure declared.

"Hey, sockhead!" The spiky-headed Ed boy ran towards his ski-hat wearing friend and they went towards the one and only punching bag in this ferry. Edd felt in his gut that what Eddy was about to demonstrate wouldn't be a good idea.

"Look at this punch!" Eddy exclaimed as he punched the punching bag with all of his might.

_**Thud!**_

"Wow, what a neat punch Eddy!" Ed commented, a huge smile plastered across his youthful face. "Well then, stand back and look at mine!" The tall Ed boy exclaimed as he would tighten his muscles and thereafter punch the bag in the same place with all of his might. "Ha!"

_**Crack!**_

However, unknown to Ed, his punch caused the bag to break and the beads inside fall onto the floor.

"Oh, great job! Look at what you did, Ed!" Eddy exclaimed, glaring at his orange haired friend.

"Uh, should we ask the Captain if there's a spare?" Bubbles enquired Edd who was having a panic attack at the moment. "What's the captain going to do to us? That guy might be old but he seems powerful. Is he gonna have us hanged!" Edd started to pace in a circle, sweating bullets just by the thought of the captain's anger.

"Calm down, sockhead. Hopefully the captain'll be understanding," Eddy responded, patting his ski-hat wearing friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"Yup, understanding!" Ed proclaimed as the group would head to different rooms in the ferry, in search for the captain, once they entered the control room the Ed boys spotted him talking to one of his navigators. "Hm?" The captain would direct his gaze towards the group, greeting them with a huge smile plastered on his face. "Ah, youngsters. What is it you want?"

"Uhm, well you see... We kinda broke your uhm, punching bag..." Ed said, scratching the back of his head smiling sheepishly as he would let out a stupid laugh.

"And we want another one geezer." Eddy stated with great assurance which made the sailors in the contol room gasp, as if the short-heighted Ed boy just said something blasphemous.

"This 'geezer' has a name, and that is Captain K'nuckles of the Seven Seas!" One of the sailors exclaimed, an irritated vein appeared on the man's forehead. "Also, there are another ones in the back of the boat in a storage room." He said as he pointed to the back of the ferry.

"Hmmm..." K'nuckles watched as the boys would leave the control room, when the trio are gone the ship navigator would whisper into the man's ear.

"There's a storm coming. And it's a big one, on top of that, Captain." K'nuckles nodded his head as he walked out of the room, to get some coffee to ease his stressed nerves. "You take it over for now." The man declared.

* * *

**｢ ****Several Hours Later ****｣**

**| Afternoon |**

**********｟ 15:30 AM ｠**

* * *

When the much anticipating afternoon arrived, the waves would be rolling in no time. Thunder is clapping, and most of the ship's inhabitants are rendered indisposed.

_**Bam! Bang! Bam! Swish. Whoosh.**_

Grumbling about his lousy crew, the captain strolled towards the room that the Hunter hopefuls are now occupying. Not expecting much, he opened the door and was greeted with the sight of passed out and sick men sprawled upon the various surfaces of the room.

Scanning the room the Captain snorted in disgust and exclaimed the following, "Not a single one of them can stand, pathetic landlubbers! And they all intend to take up the Hunter Examination? What a laugh!"

"Here you go, drink some of this aloe vera tea! It's very soothing for your stomach, yes." A young blue haired man chirped out. Seeing that the young man was fine and helping the room's sick occupants the captain took another, closer look at around the room.

On his second scan he noticed seven more people; one was a teen reading on a hammock while ignoring everything around him, the second one was a boy whispering something to his goldfishes much to the Captain's curiosity, the third one was another girl ignoring everything around her as she would listen to her music and the last four ones were the youngsters at the control room earlier today.

"Heh." Smirking, the Captain called out, "You nine kids! Come with me." The Captain exclaimed, pointing with his index finger at each teen.

"Why should we?" Buttercup enquired, her eyes narrowed at the Captain.

Smirking dangerously, K'nuckles proclaimed the following, "For starters, this is _my_ ship; If you don't come with me, then I'll have to push you off this boat this instant. Understood, tough stuff?" With that said, all eight people who were called out stiffened and obediently followed the Captain.

* * *

Once the group reached the bridge of the ferry, the Captain would light his pipe up and smoke before he started his questioning, "Ah, that's better... Alright... First, tell me your names."

"Dexter McPherson." Dexter said calmly with his hands dug into his pocket.

Smiling brightly, Bubbles winked and said, "Bubbles Tara Utonium!"

"Timmy Turner." The boy said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Rolf Romario Muhammad, the Son of a Shepherd." Rolf proclaimed the last sentence with pride.

"Edward Horace Hughes' the name! But I'd like to be called simply Ed!" Ed exclaimed with excitement, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Edward Skipper Russo." The short heighted Ed boy said, shrugging his shoulders.

"My name is also Edward, but with two D's and Marion as my middle name. I'd like to be referred to as Edd or Double D." The ski-hat wearing Ed boy stated.

"... Buttercup Elizabeth Utonium..." The tomboy proclaimed irritably, the raven haired girl would send the Captain a death glare. Attempting to intimidate him, which she unfortunately failed miserably in doing so.

"And why do you want to be Hunters?" Captain K'nuckles enquired, letting the smoke float out of his mouth for a moment before he quickly inhaled the pipe once again.

A vein mark would appear on Buttercup's forehead as she would burst out and point her index finger at the Captain, exclaiming the following, "Don't ask us questions like this, geezer! Don't you have any respect for people and their privacy? Besides that, you're not even an examiner! How the hell do you have the audacity to look at someone and ask people a personal question to their faces!"

"Just answer the question." Captain K'nuckles said evenly, glaring back at the raven haired girl.

Unsurprisingly, Bubbles was the first one to speak, not realizing the atmosphere around her, "Uhm, I want to become a Hunter so I can get my very own amusement park!" She exclaimed, her sapphire blue eyes were full of rememberance.

"I like adventures, and I want to become a Hunter for the gravy I get afterwards!" Ed declared, making everyone sweatdrop at his last sentence.

"Earth to Bubbles! You're not supposed to answer the geezer's questions, damn it!" Buttercup exclaimed irritably, narrowing her eyes at her sister.

Tilting her head, Bubbles innocently asked, "Why can't I tell him why I'm here? What's wrong with that?"

Confused with the situation himself, Ed added in, "Butterscotch, I don't see the problem with telling the Captain since he asked us our own separate reasons."

Tsking, Buttercup stated, "Haven't you guys heard about the word "privacy" before? And it's not Butter_scotch_, it's Butter_cup_." Then she would poke Bubbles's forehead as she would continue her rant, "I have no intention to reveal my reasons as to why I'm here. Presto bingo!" With that said, Bubbles would inwardly flinch.

She's been loud and angry since the Captain started talking, her ears hurt. This is going to get bad fast for the group. Frowning, Bubbles would prepare herself for another brash outburst from Buttercup.

A minute would pass as Buttercup was done ranting, and calmly, the Captain spoke up, "In other words; You refuse to answer my question." Turning to a crew member he said, "Hey, Flapjack. Tell the examination association that we have one more dropout."

The youngsters were shocked, Buttercup's eyes were widened as she would ask, "W... What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it, brat? The moment you stepped into this ferry was the moment the examination initiated." After the Captain explained that he is there to cut down the number of participants, Buttercup and the others became slightly more willing to answer the man's enquiries.

Buttercup clenched teeth and tightened her fists as she would speak up, "I... I want to become a Hunter so I can get enough money to buy a Philosopher's Stone in this in Gotham City's winter auction two years from now..." She paused, biting her lips. "There's someone... I want revived back to life..." That certainly caught everyone's attention.

Dexter's eyes widened at that announcement while the other examinees gasped in shock. The boy genius would stare at the raven haired girl intently for a bit before turning his gaze to the window in thought.

_"A Philosopher's Stone... One of the most powerful transmutation amplifier in Alchemy... The absolute law of alchemy is always about equivalent exchange, but the stone gives the impression that someone is able to override that law. This stone can easily bypass the laws of equivalent exchange..."_ Dexter thought.

Dexter would stare at the raven haired girl once again, _"__Could it be that she intends to perform a Human Transmutation...? No, that stuff has been illegal for like, ten years now ever since the worldwide cataclysm. Every Alchemist who has attempted to perform a Human Transmutation faced the following consequences... Death or prison sentence for playing God. But then again, if she becomes a Hunter she can use the license on her advantage, escaping the following consequence of being sentenced to prison."_

The captain looked thoughtful, "So you want to perform a Human Transmutation, I presume..." He said, smirking while he finished, "Human Transmutation is not normally used because Human Transmutation is strictly prohibited through the law of equivalent exhchange if I recall correctly." Suddenly he fixed Buttercup with a sharp look, "You don't know what sorts of power this Philosopher's Stone contains, brat. You'd be throwing away your life."

Bubbles too, would be staring at her sister, rather than being shocked like the others she was interested. _"Resurrection... Isn't that stuff impossible? __Even if it's possible, why would she risk her very life to revive said person? Was that person someone special to her or what?_" The golden haired girl thought, staring intently at Buttercup's fist which was trembling.

_"She gets angry, and irrational in ways that I, and even Blossom don't understand. She's very three dimensional..."_

Buttercup would look up at the Captain with serious eyes, emerald green eyes that were blazing with determination that told him that there is no turning point for her. "I don't fear death, geezer. What I fear is that I can not revive the one I love back to life. I will take the risk, regardless of the consequences." The raven haired girl declared followed by silence. The words uttered by the sailors are so quietly that the youngsters has to strain their ears to hear them, the quietness of the bridge, the air feeling stale and the silence is suffocating.

"Uhm, do you think the storm will worsen?" Ed enquired, breaking the suffocating silence.

The captain grinned as he would respond the following, "Aye, but this storm isn't very big in the first place. I've dealt with storms worse than that!" Everyone sweat dropped at the man's answer but the Ed boys would loosen up knowing that someone has the situation under control. Being stranded in the sea during a storm doesn't sound very fun to everyone.

Turing to Flapjack, Ed started asking the young man what working on a ship was like. He once thought about being a pirate, but found it to be dull when he stowed away on a ship and all they did was order him around when they found him. If he had the choice to be a monster or a pirate, he'd pick monster everyday.

The tall Ed boy turned around startled when one of the sailors' voice bellowed out, "CAPTAIN! L... Look...!" The captain turned around and gasped, which caused the rest of the group to do the same. They all saw a huge waterspout heading towards our ship, everyone felt they were doomed this instant.

The next few minutes were a blur to them, Rolf, Flapjack and Buttercup headed out to lower the sails then Rolf pulled Ed along with a rope in his hand. The next thing the orange haired Ed boy knew was that he was trying to stop Flapjack from his flying attempt but ended up being thrown myself.

_**Swish! Whoooosh! Sweeep!**_

"Ed!" The last thing Ed saw were Edd and Eddy reaching out towards him and a blue blur. Flapjack was sent flying but before he fell overboard he hit another body that stopped his momentum and made him crash onto the deck. Turning around to thank his savior, the deckhand saw a girl being sent backwards over the railing of the ship. It was no one other than Bubbles.

"Half-wit Ed boy!" Rolf flew out to catch Ed once Edd and Eddy failed to reach their friend; they instead caught Rolf's feet as he held onto the boy's torso. By the time the storm cleared up I was in my right mind and sitting in a circle surround by three boys. The two Ed boys were berating the orange haired Ed boy and the immigrant for their compulsive behavior.

"Seriously, what the hell were you idiots thinking?!" Eddy scolded them, pointing his index finger at them. "If we hadn't grabbed you guys, you'd be shark bait in no time!"

Sighing, Edd would rub his forehead in an attempt to ease his stressed nerves. He would say the following, "Honestly, how reckless can you two be? You placed your own lives on the line without a single hesitation..."

Ed grinned cheekily from ear to ear, he would scratch the back of his head sheepishly as he would let out a loud chuckle. "Sorry for worrying you guys, I guess my body was moving by instinct! But hey, at least we're safe since you guys caught us!" He said as he would continue laughing alongside Rolf which made the other two Ed boys laugh as well.

"Ed!" The group turned around and saw Flapjack heading towards them, expressing his grattitude to the orange haired Ed boy for saving his life. Ed pointed towards the other four people behind him and said that they also saved his life, not him alone. The young sailor said his thanks and headed off back to his position.

The sound of Captain K'nuckles cackling made the boys pause from their laughter as he would speak up, "I like you eight kids! You've got some guts unlike those landlubbers! Alright, I'll take responsibility for bringing you eight to the port closest to the exam site!" As those words escaped the Captain's lips, the youngsters could feel the excitement radiating in their bodies.

Buttercup raised an eyebrow, she would be cocking her head to the side out of curiosity as she enquired, "Wait... What test geezer?"

Captain K'nuckles smoked his pipe before he would blow rings and streams of smoke, "Like I said, it's my decision to make whether you are qualified to continue this examination and thus far, all nine of you pass!" With those words said, the examinees started to cheer with joy in an instant, Ed jumped up and down with excitement. He could feel the adrenaline through his body upon the Captain's declaration.

"Alright!" And thus, this marked the beginning of the Ed boys' journey throughout the Hunter Exams; With each step they take in the Exams, the closer they are to the career of a Hunter. Unbeknownst to the Ed boys, the Preliminary Phase of the Hunter Exams has only just begun as they are sailing off in the radiating sunset. What next obstacle will they overcome?

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 **EXTRA **********」**

* * *

**Name: **Bubbles Tara Utonium.

**Date of Birth: **18 November, 1994. (12)

**Height: **145 centimeters. (4'9")

**Weight: **38.2 kilograms. (99 lbs)

**Blood Type: **A.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student, Hero.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Drawing, Video Games, Blowing Bubbles, Watching Cartoons, Crime Fighting.

**Grades: **Average.

**Favorite Food:** Caesar Salad.

**Favorite TV Show: **Tom & Jerry.

* * *

**Name: **Blossom Catherine Utonium.

**Date of Birth: **18 November, 1994. (12)

**Height: **150 centimeters. (4'11")

**Weight: **40.6 kilograms. (77 lbs)

**Blood Type: **O.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student, Hero.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Reading, Learning, Video Games, Studying, Crime Fighting.

**Grades: **Nonexistent.

**Favorite Food:** Foie Gras.

**Favorite Movie: **Forrest Gump.

* * *

**Name: **Buttercup Elizabeth Utonium.

**Date of Birth: **18 November, 1994. (12)

**Height: **153 centimeters. (5'1")

**Weight: **42.3 kilograms. (92 lbs)

**Blood Type: **B.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student, Hero.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Martial Arts, Sports, Video Games, Crime Fighting.

**Grades: **Below Average.

**Favorite Food:** Barbeque.

**Favorite Movie: **Gladiator and Pulp Fiction.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Howdy boy! Another chapter finished! This took me an entire month to finish considering my other fanfiction I got in progress.

Thus far, I am pretty satisfied with this chapter. 3000 words is not much of a problem, I don't want my chapters to be over 8000 words unless it's a special one. I want the pace to be nice and steady. I intend for the _Hunter Exams Arc _of _Ed Edd n Eddy X _to be no more than 20 chapters.

Also, I always imagined Rolf would be of Islamic background considering the fact he was raising herds of sheeps in a flashback of an _Ed, Edd n Eddy _episode I once watched.

The Old Country he was always referring to had some odd cultural customs, and his very thick foreign accent seemed to match his descent. I could imagine he was of both Islamic and Romanian descent, hence the _Romario_ middle name.

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions/requests for the next chapter feel free to leave it in your review or message me. I can't gurantee you that I will fulfill your request, but I will do my best. With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	4. Chapter III: The Quiz

**Disclaimer:****I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.****  
**

******Before the chapter begins, I'd like to say thank you to BNVshark for pointing out some flaws at the Prologue chapter. I admit I rushed a little bit during that chapter. Whether it is better or worse is up to you guys, really. Also check out his story, _Kingdom Ed: Remix!_, thus far it is good!  
**

******With that said, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

_Underline _- Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢ J****uly 16th, Aron City, United States ****｣**

**| Morning |**

**********｟ 08:45 AM ｠**

* * *

Beams of light shone down over all of Aron City Harbor. The sun was risen and morning had began. Throughout the city, stallions, mares and other animals were being woken from their slumbers, some cheerfully, others not so much. It was another warm summer day like the other. The morning sun's rays sparkled in the ocean's smooth waves and seagulls cried as they called for their breakfast.

Having passed the little test of Captain K'nuckles, the three are now docking in Aron City Harbor, the second pit stop, before reaching the site where the Examination will take place.

"Urgh... This is the last I am sailing on a ship..." Edd groaned as his stomach churned as he fought the urge to vomit right there on the spot. Edd held a hand to his stomach, holding back his motion-induced sickness.

"Hahaha, don't be a landlubber kid! I know you can deal better than that!" The Captain exclaimed, patting Edd's back in a rough, yet, friendly way. A wide smile plastered on his face as he would laugh good heartedly, making the others sweatdrop in confusion. "Oh yeah! Consider this as a kick starter for you rookies, see that large sequoia tree on the hilltop?" The Captain hinted, pointing his index finger at a giant sequoia tree atop the hills he just mentioned.

"Yeah, what about that geezer?" Eddy enquired, folding his arms.

"It's a shortcut to the Examination Site." The man responded, taking a sip of his icy cold beer. "You'd be there in no time I can gurantee you."

"A shortcut? Thank goodness! So, we just need to head for that tree! Roger that, we'll do that, Captain! Thanks!" Ed exclaimed, smiling as he, alongside with Edd and Eddy, headed off, the orange haired teen waved back towards the Captain, bidding one final farewell. The Captain merely chuckled and watched the boys make their way. "Those kids were certainly some interesting bunch, like those other brats twenty years ago."

* * *

**｢ Several Mintues Later ****｣**

**********｟ 09:12 AM ｠**

* * *

Following the long winding path towards the hilltop, the group were talking about what obstacle they will confront next. The only one who was silent the entire trip was Dexter who was listening to mathematic audio books through his walkman. Looking around she saw a bird flying, it was so nice out. Bubbles would occasionally looked at the red haired boy, wondering why he was so quiet but brushed it off when she noticed the walkman on his hand.

"Remind me again, Ed... Double D... Why are we bringing along the female dog? I don't mind Rolfy-boy, Dexter or Bubbles, but why her out of all people?" Eddy asked, his hands dug in his pockets as he would glare daggers at Buttercup. The intensity of their mutual loathing is so intense that it manifests as crackling streamers of lightning arcing back and forth between their eyes.

"Oh please, shorty. I was going to take this shortcut, even before the Captain told you." She declared, smirking viciously at Eddy who in turn, stared at her deadpanned.

"Right, that would explain why you were buying tickets for the next bus to arrive." The spiky-headed boy retorted.

Ed would reluctantly place his hands on Buttercup and Eddy's shoulders. The atmosphere around them is so cold that it freezes his bare fingers. "Oh, c'mon you guys! Think of it as a big slumber party! Or better yet, the Avengers of the Marvel comic series!"

They were quite far from the town but could still see it and the area they were was amazing. The view of the harbor was beautiful and there were flowers everywhere. The air smelt like wet ground and it was very relaxing. Until Buttercup and Eddy started ranting at each other. Buttercup was babbling about how she would stick with them for a while longer only because her sister is accompanying them and the such.

The scenery was slowly turning into a barren hill. On the top of the hill they were climbing, they saw a village. Rustling of random papers scattered by the wind could be heard, the wind whistling past the empty alleys and streets ahead. A raven cawed loudly. They came to a stop when a masked person wearing a white sheet-like toga came bearing a wooden cart large enough to hold several people in it. "Ooga-booga-booga!" In the center of these masked strangers was an old lady, seated with her elbows resting atop the table.

"Oh dear, it seems like we have some visitors; youngsters on top of that." She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Would you like some tea?"

"Muriel! Those brats are not here for tea, damn it!" Eustace exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at his wife. "They're contestants for starters, and they're here to pass this test. I swear, sometimes I wonder why the Hunter Association chose you as an examinator over me." The old man snorted thereafter, folding his arms. The group of youngsters would sweatdrop and an awkward silence followed.

"Oh, yes... I shall administer a single-question quiz for you lads. You'll have five seconds _only_ to state your answer." She paused, looking at the youngsters with a serious expression written on her face.

"Give the wrong answer, and you are disqualified from this year's Hunter Exam." The old lady uttered, "Understood?" She enquired, which the lads would nod their heads in comprehension.

The masked strangers next to the old lady who each held an instrument, sounded their instruments festively. The group looked bewildered for a moment, staring at these people with a humorous face scribbled all over their features. Rolf, on the other hand, was mesmerized by their culture. "How remarkable! This tradition reminds me of my Old Country!"

"Heh, this is gonna be as easy as eating pie." Buttercup as she smirked, feeling more confident than usual considering the fact that her control freak of a sister isn't here to lecture her or steal the spotlight.

"_However_, your answer will be either the number one or two. Any other answer will be considered incorrect. In short, all of you shares the same question and if one of your comrades answers incorrectly you are all disqualified." Eustace declared, smirking dangerously at the group.

"Woah, hold on for a second old man! You mean all seven of us share one question? So if one of us answers the question, I'm disqualified, too?" Buttercup repeated, her eyes widened as Eustace and Muriel would nod their heads. "That's a load of bullshit!" The raven haired girl exclaimed as she would fly into a rage.

"Uhm, this way is easier if I have to be honest with you, Buttercup. After all, only one of us needs to know the answer to advance." Bubbles butted in, just in time, effectively diffusing the heated battle that would have happened between Buttercup and Eustace.

"Yeah! Plus, I am not good at quizzes. Last time I took my quiz, I got an F." Ed added as he would continue, "I'd say we'd let Dexter answer this question for us. You know, since he is the smartest among us. Does anyone disagree with me?" Ed asked, looking at the others who shook their head in response with the exception of Buttercup.

"I have no objection." Edd said as the others would step aside, giving space to Dexter who stepped forward to Eustace and Muriel.

"Alright, here's your question: Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one of them. Select answer number one for your mother, or number two for your lover. Which will you save?" The old lady asked, eyes narrowing as she gazed expectantly at the red haired boy who stared at her flabbergasted.

"How is he supposed to answer such question as this?" Timmy commented, eyes widened. He doesn't have a wife, but hypothetically, if he did, he would most definitely save her... His mother is one generation older. She has had a long life already, whereas his wife would not have had that.

Also, the relationship between his mother and him really isn't all that great. Whereas when he's in love with someone, he feels as if he is perfectly compatible with them, they will end up meaning more to him than his parents, no the entire world. At least for him, anyway...

This however, only infuriated Buttercup more, a vein popping on her temple as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She was glaring at Eustace who was smirking in a smug way. Meanwhile, the old lady counted down the five seconds until time was up. "Buzz! Time is up! What is your answer?" The old lady enquired, however, Dexter didn't respond. He remained silent instead, much to Eustace frustration.

"Well? What is your answer, smart guy? Do it fast, so we can get this over with!" The old man exclaimed, breaking the silence. He would slam his hands on the table as he would let out a rough and rustic snort.

"Silence is the only proper response." Dexter responded, pushing his glasses back up his nose by their bridge, using one finger.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bubbles enquired, tilting her head in confusion.

"There is no correct answer in this quiz. They had no intention of ever receiving an answer from their inquiry. The asker knew the response and the individual being enquired knew the response. In short, it was a rhetorical question therefore there is no reason to answer their question." The red haired boy finished, directing his answer at Muriel and Eustace.

"That is correct." The old lady responded, grinning from ear to ear by the red haired boy's response. "You may walk ahead. Here, this path leads you directly to the tree on the hilltop. Walk two hours, and you'll reach the top in no time!" The old lady confirmed, stepping off of the cart and heading to the stone sliding doors that they came out of.

"A couple of people in the cabin beneath that tree will serve as your navigators. If you meet up to their criteria, I believe that they will guide you to the exam site. Do your best to become wonderful Hunters." She added, smiling softly.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**********｟ 18:14 PM ｠**

* * *

After making it past that test, they make their way towards the cabin under the sequoia tree, where a couple is said to live. After a few more minutes of trudging on dirt, they finally reach the cabin house under the large sequoia tree.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Ed was first to knock and call out to whoever lived there. But it didn't seem like anybody was home. But the door was bizarrely enough, left open. So the seven of them stepped in, only to find the place roughed up with broken furniture, broken glass scattered on the floor and mud. A large hairy beast was holding a woman, and a man was laying on the floor unconscious, she seemed injured.

"A hairy beast!" Timmy exclaimed, stating the obvious.

"A beast?" Bubbles echoed, getting into a fighting along with the others, ready to attack the hairy beast at anytime.

"And the man on the floor needs some medical attention!" Edd exclaimed as the hairy beast holding the struggling woman in his arms, jumps out through the window, crashing through the wood walls and escaping into the night.

**_Craaaaack!_**

"Hold on a second!" Rolf exclaimed as he would jump out of the window following after the hairy beast holding the woman, he was shortly after followed by Bubbles, Dexter, Ed and Timmy.

"We'll leave the chick to you, sockhead." Eddy declared, heading out the door following after Ed and the others who're chasing after the hairy beast.

"P-please... Please save my sister..." The man in Edd's arms begged, now conscious.

"Don't talk, you'll only exhaust yourself." The ski-hat wearing Ed boy stated, smiling in reassuringly at the weak man.

Buttercup looks at the weak man with her narrowed, still leaning against the wall, arms folded across her chest. _"This is too iffy to be true..."_

* * *

**｢ Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**********｟ 18:18 PM ｠**

* * *

Meanwhile, the six youngsters ran through the forest in pitch darkness, with only the moon serving as their light source, following after the hairy beast with a woman as hostage.

_"That's bizarre... There's something queer about that man and woman... If those two are our navigators to the exam site how come they were easily assaulted by this beast? At it's best, it should considered a B or C-Rank beast..." _Dexter thought to himself, as he watches Ed, Eddy, Rolf and Timmy jump nimbly from branch to branch, with Bubbles flying. _"After all, the Hunter Association didn't choose them for nothing..."_

"Hairy bizarre beast, let go of the damsel in distress this instant!" Rolf called out after the beast.

"Try to catch me first, boy!" The beast exclaimed. With those words said, Rolf started cracking his knuckles, getting ready to punch the beast. The blue haired young man would clench his fist and jump from one thick branch. _"He's fast!" _The beast thought as Rolf's fist connected with the beast's cheek.

**_Thud!_**

Rolf managed to hit the beast hard enough on the cheek to make it let go of the girl as it would fall down through the branches and land on a grassy field. Dexter caught the girl easily, though he wasn't expecting that move from Rolf. The red haired boy would sigh and silently mumble about the blue haired boy's recklessness.

"Well, that ended quickly. Better than expected, actually." Timmy said, landing on the ground. Meanwhile in a swift jump, Ed, Eddy and Rolf landed on the ground firmly.

"Are you all right? Are you injured anywhere?" Dexter immediately enquired the woman, examining her. "I-I'm okay... What about my brother? How is he?" The woman asked, worry seep through her voice as she looked into Dexter's eyes.

"Have no worries, your brother is being taken care of. Now... Why don't you answer my questions, woman?" Dexter started, his expression was emotionless as he would take out his radiological gun out and point it at her head. "Are you our navigator to the exam site?" He enquired as the woman would nod her head in an instant.

"If so, how come you were easily assaulted by this beast? A beast that should be considered no more but a B or C-rank... From my understanding, you people of the Hunter Association are supposed to be extraordinarily strong. Stronger than most B-ranked beasts. _Who_ are you really?" Dexter asked, pressing the radiological gun against the woman's throat.

* * *

**｢ Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**********｟ 18:30 PM ｠**

* * *

"Hohohohoho! You sure have grown, Rolf! You're pretty quick. I did not expect you'd land such a punch on me at all!" The hairy beast exclaimed, who was now revealed to be Rolf's Nana.

"Haha, yes I have grown strong during the years I haven't been with you!" Rolf would scratch the back of his head sheepishly as he would laugh along with his Nana. "Before I could hardly even land punch on you at all due to your speed." He said, leaving the others confused.

"Uhm, Rolf. Who are those people anyway?" Edd asked, just as curious as the others.

"Ah, yes. Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the navigators. This is Bastian and Yonick, and I'm Rolf's Nana. Our family provides support to the Hunter Exam. The Hunter Exam changes site every year. It's quite difficult to locate it." The disfigured stated.

"Thus we, navigators, help by guiding the applicants to the site. But we don't help every candidate. We test applicants to see if they're qualified to take up the examination." Yonick declared, smiling at the youngsters. "Dexter McPherson, you successfully used the most vague of hints to determine that we weren't assaulted. Therefore, you pass."

"Buttercup Utonium, your powers of observation was quite impressive too. You managed to uncover our acting when Eddward was attending me. Thus, proving yourself to be worthy taking up the Hunter Exams. Therefore, you pass as well." Bastian declared, making Buttercup smile with a new profound confidence.

"Rolf... My boy..." Nana stated, patting the blue haired boy's shoulder, a soft smile plastered across her face. "Your superhuman physical strength was stunning. I never thought you would manage to lay your fist on my face. You proved yourself to be worthy taking up the Hunter Exams. After all, it runs in our blood. Thus, you pass." She said as she would flicker her eyes to look at the others. "As for the rest of you, you pass!"

"Huh? Really?" Bubbles enquired as Nana would nod her head. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled in happiness. With all three of them able to pass the mini test of the navigators, they couldn't help but be cheerful and happy.

Bubbles and Ed were excited, Buttercup. Eddy and Timmy were enjoying themselves, and Dexter and Edd were relieved for the most part that they have been able to come this far. And now they're on their way to the place closest to the examination site, guided by the navigators who are personally taking them there. Thus, marking the beginning of the Ed Boys' bizarre adventure throughout the Hunter Exams.

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 EXTRA** **********」**

* * *

**Name: **Rolf Romario Muhammad.

**Date of Birth: **30 March, 1990. (16)

**Height: **177 centimeters. (5'10")

**Weight: **70.3 kilograms. (154 lbs)

**Blood Type: **O.

**Occupation: **High School Student (Junior Year), Farmer.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Farming, Animal Grooming.

**Grades: **Below Average.

**Favorite Food:** Meat.

* * *

**Name: **Timmy Turner.

**Date of Birth: **30 March, 1996. (10)

**Height: **130 centimeters. (4'3")

**Weight: **30.3 kilograms. (66 lbs)

**Blood Type: **A.

**Occupation: **Elementary School Student.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Video Games, Sports, Skateboarding.

**Grades: **Below Average.

**Favorite Food:** Egg Sandwich.

**Favorite Movie: **Labyrinth.

* * *

**Name: **Dexter McPherson.

**Date of Birth: **30 March, 1993. (13)

**Height: **155 centimeters. (5'1")

**Weight: **44.3 kilograms. (97 lbs)

**Blood Type: **A.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Science, Studying, Reading, Video Games, Comic Books.

**Grades: **Nonexistent.

**Favorite Food:** Mom's Cooking.

**Favorite TV Show: **Star Trek.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Alright! Another chapter finished! This didn't take me so long to finish considering the fact that I deleted my other fanfiction. It was an utter failure that got little to no acknowledgement compared to this story. So now I'm going to be concentrating on writing down this story from start to finish.

Next chapter I will definitely introduce the other characters featured in the _Hunter Exams Arc_, this time the other _Ed Edd n Eddy_ characters. Only two though. Those characters are Kevin and Nazz. Yes, I intend to make Nazz a main character. Also, thus far, my favorite characters to write are definitely Buttercup, Dexter and Rolf. They've always my favorite characters, haha.

Anyway time to answer my reviewers.

* * *

**************「 REVIEWS** **********」**

* * *

_Spindash77: __It seems interesting so far despite a few glaring writing issues in this chapter for instance, _  
_"'Dexter McPherson' said Kevin." now why would Kevin introduce himself as Dexter, Kevin's not even on the ship. Also at some point the story switches from third person to first person without warning or reason. Other than that I'm interested in seeing where you're going to go with this version of the hunters exam._

Answer: I've fixed that mistake with the Dexter and Kevin part. Also, can you point out where I switch from third to first person? If you are talking about the dialogue, I've added the Table of Fonts to give you a warning. Feel free to leave me a personal message about this matter.

_BNVshark (I): Okay, I like this story, it has a lot of promise. I have an issue though. You switch up your tenses whenever you describe a character. Usually, the tense is supposed to stay the same for the entire story, minus dialogue, of course. __I wish this website would let us copy/paste stuff again, because I wanted to post that part here, but look at the place where you described Eddy. It breaks off from the past tense you had earlier, opting for present tense instead. That threw me off because of how awkward that transition was. Instead of writing that, instead put something along the lines of "The boy was quite small, standing at only 4'11" he had spiky black hair with bangs, etc..." You get where I'm going. _

Answer: Yeah, I've fixed that mistake with the description of appearance. It is sort of ruining the story. There is no reason really to explain their appearances any further. You can just imagine how the characters look like and the such.

_BNVshark (II): The part where he was getting bullied bothered me a bit. I would think that everyone here would know what Eddy looks like, but you never bother to explain, even briefly, what the other three characters look like. And Azula's a little out of character, she's not the type to go and beat someone senseless for no reason... well, she /is/ kind of like that, but I guess the fact that she's just doing that here for no reason, when she was such an explored character in Avatar is what bothers me. _

___Eddy isn't the type to go and take beatings silently either. He's demonstrated time and time again that he doesn't care if he's losing, he'll keep getting back up. Literally the only way to stop him from fighting back is to kill him, and even that is impossible. Here, you made him a passive guy because... Again, it just bothers me, is all. I see what you were going for, you're trying to make us sympathize with him, but at the same time, it's like he's not the same guy anymore. He's way to prideful to act the way you portrayed him._

Answer: I've fixed the prologue as I stated earlier. I don't want to add her too early, besides that, that was just me hurrying up writing down the prologue chapter. I am going to give her depth in her character during the second arc which I have all planned out. Even before I published this story.

Other than that, this story is an Alternate Universe fanfiction. Hence Eddy's more "passive" personality as you described it earlier. Surely, they share almost the same traits as their cartoon counterparts but their motivations, circumstances and personalites differ from their original counterparts.

After all, anything is possible in an Alternate Universe fanfiction. He will still be a hot-blood and a rebel, though. Just in a more _Extra Zero _fashion, thus darker, edgier and full of cynicism. That's what I did with almost all of my past fanfictions. I'm a mad scientist when it comes to fanfiction.

_BNVshark (III): __Hunter Exam? Hunter x Hunter!? DUDE, that's one of my top 5 shows!_

_I'm actually incorporating elements of HxH in Kingdom Ed; Remix. The ability system in that series is flawless, hopefully you'll use them to their full potential and start thinking up unique abilities for everyone now, I know I already have my characters' thought up. PM me later, I'll help you think up some really good ones, if you need it._

_By the way, you made the Hunter Exam sound WAY to easy. 25% don't pass. It's more like 25% wind up escaping with their lives and only 6 or 7 out of 500 pass. I hope you make this exam unique and don't just copy/paste the one from HxH._

_Either way, I'm excited. I can't wait to see how this all turns out._

Answer: I have already planned out the abilities for the current main characters and future main characters. Also, rest assured, I have already planned out some original tests for the characters with the help of my friend. It may seem similar with the main series' Hunter Exam sometimes, yes. But I need something to develop the second story arc which will be the best arc of this story I can gurantee you. If you got some ideas, feel free to leave me a personal message.

Plus, the arc will end in a bittersweet and dynamic fashion. After all, this story will be a deconstruction of the typical action-packed and adventurous Ed Edd n Eddy fanfiction.

* * *

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions/requests for the next chapter feel free to leave it in your review or message me. I can't gurantee you that I will fulfill your request, but I will do my best. With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	5. Chapter IV: The First Phase

**Disclaimer:****I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.****  
**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline- Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢ J****uly 17th, Neo Endsville, United States ****｣**

**| Morning |**

**********｟ 10:25 AM ｠**

* * *

Ed, Edd, Eddy and the others passed the test given to them by the old lady known as Muriel in a deserted town when they docked at Aron City. The youngsters made their way through the shortcut presented to them, which leads to the large sequoia tree on top of the hill, where a cabin was to be found.

Arriving at the cabin, they found a wounded man and his older sister being held by a mysterious hairy beast. Buttercup and Edd stays behind to treat the injured man while Bubbles, Dexter, Ed, Eddy and Rolf chased after the hairy beast who held a woman hostage. Only to find out that they were being tested of their capabilities by Rolf's Nana. Sure enough they passed, Dexter with his intelligence, Buttercup with her powers of observation and Rolf with his superhuman strength. Now they were flown to Neo Endsville through Nana's plane.

"That is the building right there where the real exam is supposed to take place." Yonick said, pointing her index finger to a building covered in creeping grass and moss. A restaurant or barbeque shop of sorts. Everyone proceeded to sweatdrop upon such sight.

"You're joking... Right?" Eddy started, giving Yonick a serious expression.

Upon entering the restaurant, the cousin of Rolf talks to the cook and appears to be ordering something. "Welcome!" The cook greets the navigator and the other eight.

"Is the back room open?" The girl whispered into the cook's ear.

"What will you have?" The cook enquired, eyeing the blue haired girl and the other eight behind her.

"Yummy Honey Chicken Shish Kebab for nine that is." Yonick proclaimed, her hands dug into her pocket.

"For eight..." The cook said, writing it down on his notebook. "How would you like them?"

"Grilled over a low flame, until cooked." The woman responded, smiling.

"Got it. Let yourselves into the back room." The cook says, returning to his frying as he smiled knowingly at the woman. Meanwhile, the youngsters would enter a room with a single large table in the middle, and eight chairs, the room itself looked ancient and looked as if it held a lot of history on all the little cracks and scrapes on the floor and walls. The coloring of the room was a rich blue, to a dark navy, and golden outlines.

"Wait here." Yonick said, looking at the youngsters who were left confused.

"Woah hold it, lady! Why the hell are we even in a restraunt in the first place?" Buttercup started, looking into Yonick's eyes with great turmoil "I am not here for a romantic dinner for eight, I am here to become a Hunter, not make friends!"

"I have to agree with Buttercup." Timmy added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly as he would avert his eyes. "I am not really here for a fun time either, I'm here to become a Hunter. Hence why I took up this year's exam."

"I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait for the grilled food to arrive!" Ed exclaimed as he would rub his stomach, "I haven't ate a single thing since we arrived at Aron City." Soon after, his mouth would water.

"That was just the password to get us inside this room." Dexter stated, looking at the orange haired Ed boy. "The exam has only just begun."

"Oh, we don't get to eat something?" Bubbles said, pouting in a childish fashion.

"One in every thousand..." Yonick muttered, ignoring Buttercup and Timmy's rants. "The number of applicants who make it this far... You've done extremely well for first-timers. Especially you, Rolf." She proclaimed as she would put her hand on Rolf's head and ruffle with the boy's hair. "I can only wish you good luck with your exam. I would be happy to serve as your navigator next year if you fail. The same applies for the rest of you." She said, smiling as she would leave behind the group.

When the navigator left, the door locks and the room shakes, the number on the sign on top of the door changes as they are brought to the appropriate floor where the examination will take place. On the way there, the group would have a discussion on what their plans are after they've become Hunters. As the discussion escalates, the elevator dings, and the room shakes. Signaling that they have arrived.

"This is it, you guys... The first phase of the exams is about to begin..." Edd whispered so low that the other could almost not hear what the ski-hat wearing Ed boy had to say. They would exit the elevator and enter a large tunnel-esque area, with a high ceiling, that goes on and on and on. The people here seemed more serious and intimidating in a way, compared to the other applicants they rode with on the ship. The youngsters could sense the difference.

"Everyone's so intimidating." Bubbles commented, which the others would nod their heads in agreement.

"Excuse me, my good sirs and ladies. Please take a number. Be sure to wear them on your chests at all times. Be careful not to lose them at all." A weasel as said as he would hand a tag to Bubbles with the number 89 written on it. He also gave one to Eddy with the number 97 on it, Ed 69, Edd 40, Timmy 52, Dexter 46, Rolf 32 while Buttercup receives one with the number 54 on it.

_"The numbers of contestants has decreased, yet, I can sense a huge difference between them and the ones we rode. A huge gap." _Eddy thought as he would flicker his eyes to a certain golden haired girl. _"The scarlet eyed chick is even here... I don't know why, but out of all the other contestants, she stands out the most... As if she's beyond our league..."_

The tension filled silence that took up the tunnel pathway was shattered by the sound of a alarm coming from the small red weasel wearing a labcoat, beside of the weasel stood a extremely thin and equally tall skeleton man whom appeared behind a wall in the middle of the large tunnel pathway.

"Ah, I see everyone is here." The man started, analyzing each and every applicant. "I sincerely apologize for the waiting. The entry period for Hunter applicants has now ended. The Hunter Exam shall now begin!" The man exclaimed, the atmosphere surrounding the applicants was tense, heavy and suffocating.

Silence was followed as the man would continue, "A final caution: If you are short on luck or abilities, you could very well end up being seriously injured or even _dead_. Those who accept the risks, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you." The skeleton man said, an arm extending forward, pointing in the direction of the elevator at the back of the vicinity. But nobody moved from their places to leave, they just waited for what was to come next.

"Very well. All 437 applicants will participate in Phase One of the Hunter Examination." The examiner said as he would turn around to walk through this long tunnel, keeping a slow steady pace so the other applicants can catch up with him. The applicants all follow after him, walking. But soon the examiner speeds up his pace and everyone starts jogging after him.

_**Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.**_

"My name is Jack Skellington, the Phase One examiner. I shall lead you to the exam's Second Phase. You must follow me to Phase Two. This is the exam's Phase One. I can not tell you where or when you must arrive. You just need to follow me, ladies and gentlemen." The now identified Jack Skellington said.

"What a bizarre test..." Timmy commented.

"Great... Another aerobic excercise... Just great." Edd commented sarcastically, he wasn't exactly the best person in terms of physical strength or endurance. He was perhaps considered the weakest among the group for self-explanatory reasons. _"This man is not only just testing our endurance... He's also testing our mental fortitude to see how far we'll go in this Phase..."_

"I expect it's an endurance test." Buttercup added, "That's cool. I've dealt with stuff worse than this, I'll be right behind you skeleton dude!" The raven haired girl exclaimed as she would keep up with the pace Jack was currently holding alongside with the other applicants.

* * *

**｢ Four Hours Later ****｣**

**| Afternoon |**

**********｟ 14:25 PM ｠**

* * *

Four hours have passed since the start of the exam. The applicants have traveled over thirty kilometers from the start. They are forced to run at the leader's pace with no goal specified. It's a monotonous course with no end in sight. And many applicants have dropped out, by fainting or collapsing to the ground from exhaustion.

**_Tip... Tap... Tip... Tap..._**

_"I underestimated the applicants of the Hunter Exam. Every person here so far are rather impressive. They don't have any superpowers and yet, they can run a long tunnel for over thirty kilometers. Even the sock-wearing boy." _Buttercup thought while running, she would occassionally set her eyes on Edd who was panting heavily while running.

Meanwnile as the group would run, Eddy's deep sapphire hued eyes moved from the golden haired girl with red eyes to the boy with the pink nose, curious eyes grazing over the appplicants features and the expression on each faces. However, his eyes widened when his eyes caught a certain young man. "Kevin!" The boy boomed, running towards this Kevin person along with Ed and Edd.

Kevin's reaction was very questionable. "What the hell are you doing here, dork?" His eyes were narrowed, but his voice was calm, yet, harsh as he enquired the spiky-headed Ed boy. "I thought there was a certain age limit for people to participate in this exam."

_"Kevin Roberts... The grandson of the mayor of Neo Townsville... Son of the CEO of the jawbreaker factory... My rival... And the one guy who beats me in nearly every aspect. He's popular, charismatic and considered handsome to every chick he encounters." _Eddy's glare would only grow in intensity as he stared back at his self-proclaimed rival.

"Yeah, well, looks there aren't such thing as age limit in this exam." Eddy retorted, smirking dangerously at the mahogany haired young man. "The same could be asked to you, what the hell are _you _doing here?"

Kevin didn't utter a single word for awhile, silence was followed until he broke it proclaiming the following, "Don't worry about my reasons as to why I am here, that is none of your business, loser." This comment started to make Eddy boil. A vein mark appeared on his forehead as the brown haired boy would walk ahead of him.

"Well, that escalated quickly..." Edd commented in-between his pants.

"Oh, that Kevin... I'll show you!" The spiky-headed Ed boy exclaimed, fists clenched in frustration. However, his anger easily faded away by the serene voice of a certain girl

"Hey Ed, Double D and Eddy." A blonde haired young woman spoke to the Ed boys, they could feel themselves blushing maroon red. They attempted to hide their blushes from the golden haired girl but failed miserably in doing so. "What're you guys doing here anyway? I thought there was a age limit for people to apply."

"Why, hello there Nazz~" Eddy waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Hi, Nazz! Will you have some buttered toasts?" Ed exclaimed randomly, offering the girl some buttered toast he had left hidden in his jacket.

"U-uhm, w-well... You see, we surfed around the internet and apparently there aren't any sorts of age limit for people to apply. Just as long as you meet up to their following criteria." Edd stated as he would continue, "We're here to take on the career of a Hunter for various of reasons. I'm here for the license to insure my future while Ed and Eddy are here for the money they earn in the aftermath."

"What about you though? Why are you here?" Eddy enquired, looking into Nazz's calm blue eyes.

"Me?" Nazz asked, "I guess I want to start my own agency. You know, a modeling agency and the such. I need money to start a agency and the Hunter License has enough money for that." The golden haired girl stated before everything turned silent. The sound of the applicants footsteps almost in sync could be heard.

_"Nazz van Bartonschmeer... The girlfriend of Kevin... And the girl I have a crush on. Well, used to. Sure, I still think she is pretty hot and stuff but I don't really feel any spark with her anymore like I used to. Maybe it's because she turned me down for that jerk Kevin._

However, the silence did not last long when another voice boomed, "Hey, Babearilla, wait up!" It was a man with blond Elvis-style hair, he wore a pair of black sunglasses, his clothing consisted of a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans. "I'm pretty, you're pretty, why don't you and I go out and talk about something we both love: Me!" The man exclaimed while combing his golden hair.

Nazz could only roll her eyes and sigh in annoyance; she really didn't want to deal with another idiot trying to flirt with her. "How many times do I have to tell you, I have a boyfriend?"

"Well, you look like the kind of girl that could use two." The man responded, grinning from ear to ear.

Ed cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jonathan. Jonathan Bravo." The man paused as he would perform some odd poses, and weird battle cries. "But people just call me, "Johnny" Bravo."

_"Damn... I didn't even knew Phase One would be that hard..."_ Timmy thought to himself, grinding his teeth as he tried to keep up with the others, the distance between him and those six was growing longer and longer with each of his step.

* * *

**｢ Three Hours Later ****｣**

******｟ 17:25 PM ｠**

* * *

**_Tip... Tap... Tip... Tap..._**

_"It's been about seven and a half hours since the exam initiated. We must have traveled at least sixty-four kilometers now. How much farther do we need to go to pass Phase One, I wonder?" _Dexter thought to himself. He was running closer to the larger group along with Buttercup up front while the other five were near the end of the group that was still keeping up.

"Hi, Dexterrrrr~!" A feminine voice exclaimed, Dexter jumped as he recognized who that voice belonged to. That energetic, yet, obnoxious voice...

"Dee Dee, what on earth are you doing here?!" Dexter enquired, his eyes were narrowed at the golden haired girl who was smiling innocently at the red haired boy. "I thought I told you not to follow me!"

"Mom and Dad gave me permission to participate in the examination!" Dee Dee stated.

"What the heck were they thinking?! And what were you thinking!? Do you have any idea of how low the success rate of passing this exam are? Do you have any idea how high the probability of death is?!" Dexter enquired as he would shortly after scowl his older sister.

Meanwhile, Edd was growing tired and faint, his vision was blurring and playing out in slow motion. His shirt was sweaty and his lungs were burning with the energy exerted to push air in and out of his lungs to compensate for the rigorous activity he was participating in. His stance was off, and his steps were becoming heavier and sluggish. "This is perhaps the longest marathon I've been participating in..." The boy muttered as he stumbled and fell flat, his body crashing on the cold ground as he would pant heavily.

This caught Ed and Eddy's attention, they would pause their steps to turn back towards Edd who was now gasping for breath and resting. "Come on, Double D! Hurry up!"

"Just... Give me... A second..." Edd said in-between his panting, he was sweating bullets and his heart was beating in a fast pace. _"They're too fast... Even Dexter has no problem running through this long tunnel... Why can't I catch up with the others? Why am I so weak damn it! Is this the end of my resolve? No..."_

The ski-hat wearing Ed boy would look at Ed and Eddy with determination blazing in his emerald green eyes, he would push himself up from the ground with great difficulty. "No! I'm going to become a Hunter, get my license and become a doctor no matter what!" Edd exclaimed all of a suddenly, running at top speed to catch up with the group, leaving the two Ed boys behind.

He was running so fast that a wave of wind followed behind him, whipping the two boy's hairs back a bit. Ed grinned at this, he knew his friend wasn't just going to give up just like that. He would do anything to achieve his goals.

_**Whoooosh!**_

"Woah." Ed said, his lips were forming an 'O' as he watched Edd running at full speed.

"I've never seen that side of sockhead." Eddy added, "Let's catch up with him!" With those words said, the Ed boys get back to running towards the group following Jack Skellington. This time the flat ground of the tunnel pathway turned into steep escalating stairs. Jack wasn't slowing his pace either, instead he was picking it up another notch.

_"We've reached the ninety-kilometer mark... These contestants are rather impressive. I suppose it is about time to pick up the pace a little bit." _Jack thought to himself as he turned to look back at the remaining applicants who were still able to follow him, without missing a step on the stairs.

_**Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap!**_

"Is this guy serious?" Johnny asks as he noticed that Jack sped up again.

"That skeleton dude's insane. If he keeps up this pace, tons of people will fall down the stairs." Buttercup added.

"See you at the top, Buttercup!" Bubbles says as the golden haired girl passes through Buttercup and Dexter alongside Ed, Edd, Eddy and Timmy.

"Smell you later, female dog." Eddy jokes Buttercup, grinning.

"Oh that is it, you're dead shorty!" Buttercup exclaimed, her face boiling red as she sped up her pace, running after Eddy. On the stairway you would be able to see many of the applicants either face down on a step, laying down on their backs gasping for air, or seated on the steps, obviously those who aren't able to keep up, have withdrawn from participating any further.

Unlike the others, the group of youngsters didn't even seem to be sweating so much, but the soft pants that came from their lips showed that running for a long period of time did have some effects on them. Each, and everyone of them were quickening their pace at the same time to reach the goal before the other did.

_"This is it... Time to see how many applicants has made it this far." _The skeleton thought to himself as both of his feet reached the top. As he turned around, the Ed Boys and group jumped out from behind him, each yelling their victory. "First!"

"Hehe, make room for the winner you guys!" Eddy said, pride seeping into his voice.

"I obviously won this one, Eddy!" Ed insisted, smiling.

"What are you talking about, lumpy? I am obviously the fastest amongst our group." Eddy retorted, glaring at Ed whose smile never left his youthful face.

"You pipsqueak!" Buttercup exclaimed as she brutally tackled Eddy to the ground and pinned him down.

"Phew... We did it... It's finally... Over..." Edd said as he fell flat on the grassy field.

"I dunno about you guys, but I've never felt more refreshed!" Johnny exclaimed as he would perform multiple poses, "Man, that was a great excercise!"

"Excuse me, Mr. Skellington? Is this where the Second Phase of the exam is supposed to take place?" Bubbles asked Jack.

"Unfortunately, no. We still have quite a way to go." Jack said, smiling reassuringly at the young girl thereafter. "But have no worries, it won't be as long as the previous one."

"I see." Timmy said, shrugging.

Being the first ones to arrive, the youngsters would either sit down to relax or simply wait for the other applicants' arrival. Ed and Dee Dee were talking about random stuff, Timmy was playing on his Nintendo DS. Dexter was reading, Johnny was working out, Nazz, Kevin and Rolf were talking as well. Edd and Eddy were resting on the grassy field and Bubbles and Buttercup were sitting down next to each other to the side of the pathway where they just stepped out of, talking as well.

All they could now was to wait for the other applicants' arrival through the long stairs. The stairs of destiny that'll lead them to the career of a Hunter. What next obstacle will the Ed boys and group overcome? Will it be more intense than the ninety-kilometer endurance exercise? Only the divine beings knows.

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 EXTRA** **********」**

* * *

**Name: **Kevin Roberts.

**Date of Birth: **27 May, 1989. (17)

**Height: **175 centimeters. (5'9")

**Weight: **67.3 kilograms. (147 lbs)

**Blood Type: **B.

**Occupation: **High School Student. (Senior Year)

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Sports, Boxing, Mechanic.

**Grades: **Above Average.

**Favorite Food:** Energy Drinks.

* * *

**Name: **Nazz Van Bartonschmeer.

**Date of Birth: **13 September, 1989. (17)

**Height: **170 centimeters. (5'7")

**Weight: **47.1 kilograms. (103 lbs)

**Blood Type: **A.

**Three Sizes: **B85/W56/H87

**Occupation: **High School Student. (Senior Year)

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Athletics, Designing, Drawing.

**Grades: **Above Average.

**Favorite Food:** Sweet Chestnut.

* * *

**Name: **Jonathan "Johnny" Bravo.

**Date of Birth: **14 February, 1987. (19)

**Height: **185 centimeters. (6'1")

**Weight: **70.4 kilograms. (154 lbs)

**Blood Type: **O.

**Occupation: **Self-Employee.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Athletics, Sports, Martial Arts, Working Out, Flirting.

**Favorite Food:** Mama and Pops' Cooking.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Alright! Another chapter finished! This too, didn't take me so long to finish! Thus far, I am pretty satisfied with this chapter and how it turned out to be. While writing this chapter, I thought to myself, "Hey, why not add Johnny Bravo and Dee Dee?" I added them for the sake of comic relief, and to annoy the hell out of Dexter. I don't want this story to be too serious after all.

Besides that, Johnny will be an awesome main character to add, especially during the second story arc. The same with Dee Dee; I have plans with her for the fourth story arc.

Also, I acknowledge that I made Kevin and Nazz older than they actually are, but I did it for the sake of the plot. After all, it's an Alternate Universe Fanfic, so anything is possible. I could imagine Kevin and Nazz being the oldest of Peach Creek despite Rolf being wise beyond his years. Danny Antonucci never declared his characters' ages, only Eddy's thus far.

After the third or fourth phase of the Hunter Exam I consider adding a dodgeball challenge or something familiar. What do you think?

And woah, I am slightly shocked at how many faves and follows this story has received. It has become quite the hit! I'd like to say thank you to those of you who're following and/or faving this story. I am truly grateful!

Anyway time to answer one of my reviews.

* * *

**************「 REVIEWS** **********」**

* * *

_EDTHE3RD: This story is very interesting and I must ask, why does everyone hate eddy_

Answer: You'll find out as the story progresses.

* * *

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions/requests for the next chapter feel free to leave it in your review or message me. I can't gurantee you that I will fulfill your request, but I will do my best. With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	6. Chapter V: The Second Phase

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.****  
**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢****July 17th, Candaba Swamp, Neo Endsville, United States ****｣  
**

**********｟ 17:25 PM ｠**

* * *

Being the first ones to surface from the underground after their ninety-kilometer marathon, the Ed Boys and company would either sit down to relax or simply wait for the other applicants' arrival. Ed and Dee Dee were talking about random stuff, Timmy was playing on his Nintendo DS. Dexter was reading, Johnny was working out, Nazz, Kevin and Rolf were talking as well. Edd and Eddy were resting on the grassy field and Bubbles and Buttercup were sitting down next to each other to the side of the pathway where they just stepped out of, talking as well.  


As minutes passed by, the other contestants would slowly surface from the underground, soft pants of exhaustion escaped their lips. Jack started to count how many contestants managed to pass the ninety-kilometer endurance test. He took note of how there was a couple of applicants missing, shaking his head, the tall skeleton would let out a light cough before speaking up.

"This place is known as the Candaba Swamp. To reach the second exam site, you have no choice but to run through here. This swamp is notorious for it's many bizarre predators. The majority of them has an insatiable hunger for human flesh and prey upon them. Be careful at all times, I warn you. If you are let your guard down, then you're dead. Havoc and mischief occur here occassionally. Stay very close to me so you won't be devoured."

Buttercup scoffed unobtrusively to herself. She would never let her guard down again, or even play the role of the fool as she did during her time as a Powerpuff Girl. The raven haired girl listened as a door closed down the first part of Phase One and locked.

The sound of metal clanging down to cement resounding with the barriers around her heart. A contestant inside the tunnel, banged his hands wildly at the steel wall, shouting, "I can still go on! Please, hold on for a second! Let me out! I want to become a Hunter! Please! I want to-" Like the other contestants, Buttercup tuned the voice out without a care._  
_

_**Clamp!**_

Meanwhile, Edd gazed to the side to see the others and steeled his heart from them as well. The fog receded from the wetlands as if telling him that his resolve was clear and set. _"I'm going to become a Doctor no matter what... I'd continue walking this long steep road until I've reached my goals..."_

"D... Don't be fooled by this man. He's lying to you! He's an imposter. He is not an examiner... I'm the real examiner...!" A man exclaimed, making all of the contestants eyes widen in shock.

Timmy widened his eyes, letting out a gasp "An imposter?!"

"Then who is he?!" Bubbles added, pointing at Jack Skellington who simply stood unfazed.

The man pulled a blue creature along, "Look at this." He said as he would continue, "It's a Avallaen, one of the creatures that dwell in the Candaba Swamp! They got an insatiable hunger for human flesh. They also got the ability to steal one individual's appearance and claim it for themselves!"

"There's something fishy about this..." Buttercup said, glaring at the man holding the blue creature.

"That creature looks familiar with Mystique and Nightcrawler from X-Men!" Ed added.

"He doesn't look human to me." Johnny spoke up, "Just look at him, the man is mostly bones!"

"Kevin?" Nazz enquired, ignoring the others as she noticed Kevin take out a pair of knives. Both him and the scarlet eyed girl nonchalantly threw their weapons at both Jack and the man simultaneously.

_**Thud! Thud!**_

While the scarlet eyed girl attacked both the man and Jack, Kevin killed both the man and the ape he was holding. Each knives accurately sunk into the forehead of each being's flesh, causing them to both shriek a monsteresque howl.

Johnny stared as the man and creature he was holding fell to the ground while the examiner held the daggers he caught. The golden haired girl shot Kevin an icy cold glare before turning to face Jack Skellington.

"The skeleton man is obviously the real examiner." She said, shutting her eyes closed as she would further explain to the idiots. "Examiners are Hunters selected by the Hunter Association to perform this duty without being paid. Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block those petty attacks."

"You got some remarkable power of observation for people your age, _however_, should you ever attack me again, despite your reasons, I shall report you for turning against an examiner and you will be disqualified this instant. Understood?" The man enquired, narrowing his eyes at the golden haired girl.

"Yeah, whatever."

Jack turned to face Kevin, smiling softly at the mahogany haired young man. "I appreciate you having trusted me fully and only attacked the Avalleans." He said as Kevin dug his hands into his pockets. "Don't swell it, they were annoying me with their poor acting."

"P-poor acting?! How?!" Edd sputtered, eyes widened.

The brunette sighed, "Use your brain, Double Dork. Those weak limbs wouldn't be able to run all the kilometers we just did nonstop and at that pace. On top of that, the creature was obviously alive because his limbs should have been stiff rather than limp - you're a doctor-aspiree, aren't you? You know rigor mortis, do you?" The young man said, pausing before continuing.

"Then, like Number 37 had said, Hunters shouldn't even have trouble fighting them to the point where they lose and gets injured. At best, they should be considered C or B-class, which is weak. Not to mention, the man and the Avallean have the same distinct scent." The young man paused for a few seconds before continuing his lecture.

"And there is no way that a Avallean would naturally be born with Jack's exact face so they did that death scene wrong as well. Plus, the man's eyes had obvious killing intent in them. Basically, if you couldn't get all that on first sight, then you really should just be fooled and left for dead." He said, glaring into Edd who hung his head in embarassment. This only infuriated Eddy and to a lesser extent, Ed.

"Who the hell do you think you are, saying that sort of stuff to Double D, huh shovel chin!?" Eddy exclaimed, clenching his fists in frustration. He took a level beyond jerkass ever since the worldwide cataclysm, becoming more cynical and edgier.

"A contestant with experience." Kevin retorted, ignoring the spiky-headed Ed boy's tantrums.

Meanwhile, Edd nervously laughed, "Ahaha... I forgot that. But hey, everybody makes mistake right?" The ski-hat wearing boy said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly in an attempt to save himself from being humiliated by Kevin. Though, he still felt angry at Kevin and his unintended rudeness.

Rolf and Nazz nodded their heads, re-evaluating everything that the shapeshifting creatures did wrong and seeing that it was true. They also re-evaluated their companion, who seemed to be less trusting and carefree now. Him having seen all that in seconds and thrown to kill like the scarlet haired girl without hesitation. Though there was the factor that the shapeshifters both weren't humans.

Jack nodded at the explanation he received, mentally applauding the young man for his sharp observations and quick thinking; Definitely a professional fighter like his grandfather and perhaps somewhere beyond.

The examiner shook his head to snap out of his thoughts. They were in an Exam. He continued speaking, "He was attempting to confuse the applicants to lure some of them away. You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?" He enquired as many of the applicants laughed sheepishly.

"Do you understand now? If you lose sight of me in the Candaba Swamp fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Please, do bear that in mind." There was a silence until he turned to begin walking, "Then, let us go. Please follow me, ladies and gentlemen."

Bubbles got up and took her bag with her again. She smiled at his group, "Shall we run together?" She enquired as the others would nod their heads in agreement. Ed grinned obliviously as he would exclaim, "Sure!" With that said, the youngsters would run across the Candaba Swamp, Dexter commenting on how difficult it was to run on wet land as well as the fog getting thicker.

_**Tip... Tap... Splash! Tip... Tap... Splatter...!**_

* * *

**｢ ****Three Hours Later ****｣**

**********｟ 20:25 PM ｠**

* * *

"We're here!" Bubbles exclaimed, pointing at the finish line of the First Phase. The finish line for the First Phase came not in the form of a goal tape or a huge welcoming committee, but a building that looked like it had been plucked out of a fairy tale and carelessly dropped into a forest.

Said building was a mansion of blue, its entrances accented by graceful arches and pillars and its roof crowned with red shingles. The regal, fairytale look was enhanced by the presence of formidably thick walls made of pink brick that belonged to a castle. The décor and color scheme made it stand out from the surrounding green foliage in the same way a red wine stain stood out on a white tablecloth.

The pathway that Ed, Edd, Eddy and group were running on led them right up to two massive metal gates around which the other applicants were gathered around. The arrival of the group brought the number of applicants who had cleared the Candaba Swamp to 159.

Currently the majority of said 159 applicants were either doubled over, sitting down, or leaning against whatever solid object was available, trying to catch their breath before anything else was thrown at them. The group slowed down to a walk. "Looks like we made it on time." Johnny commented.

"This building reminds me of something you see on a Disney film..." Dee Dee commented. As she and the others approached the metal gates to the building she was awestruck by the architecture.

"Good job, everyone." Jack's voice wafted to the contestants from in front of the two gates. "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in Marzipan City's Forest. We are approximately one hundred-kilometers away from Neo Endsville."

_"Forests."_ Rolf thought, taking a deep breath and inhaled the forest smell. The blue haired boy would sigh as the smell of forest reminded him of his old country. Yes, he definitely liked forests better than swamps.

"So on that note, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." With that said, the tall skeleton walked off, his steps abnormally large due to his strange strides. The applicants watched him disappear into the woods he had lead the applicants through. After Jack was swallowed up by the forest, a giant groaning sound caught the applicants' attention. All of them whirled around to see that the two gates were sliding open.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase of the Hunter Examination please step up?" A feminine voice called out. The applicants looked at each other and then warily entered through the gates to arrive in the courtyard of the mansion. It had the standard courtyard look-a lush lawn, a flower garden near the house, and some tall trees towards the edges-except for the fact that on the lawn there were countertops, gas stoves and cooking spits.

Looking further up the pathway that led to the house revealed a woman lounging on a sofa that was set on the porch. Said woman was a combination of a cat, rabbit and bear with pink fur. Her open posture suggested that she wasn't afraid to show off her curvaceous body, which was clad in a brown cowboy jacket and a pair of blue daisy duke denim shorts. "Welcome everyone. I'm Panini, the Second Phase Examiner."

Behind the woman was a figure that starkly contrasted Panini - the largest man the Ed Boys had ever seen before that looked like a small, pale mountain made up of human flesh. He, like Panini, is a combination of a cat, rabbit and bear.

The man has purple fure and wore a purple hat with two points and has a purple shirt that was too tight to cover his bulging stomach. "And I'm Chowder, the husband of Panini, and the other examiner. Pleased to meet y'all!" After Chowder spoke a growl akin to that of a large animal echoed through the courtyard. The male examiner put his hands on his swollen stomach as he would gently rub it in circles.

**_Groaaaaaaaaaaan..._**

Panini looked up at Chowder, a gently smile plastered across her face. "You're hungry again, right honey?"

"I skipped breakfast and lunch today..." Chowder whined in a way that reminded Edd of Ed when he doesn't get his gravy.

Panini turned back to the crowd and stood up from the couch. "There you have it, applicants. Since my husband skipped breakfast and lunch, the Second Phase of the Hunter Exam will be focusing on..." A tense silence filled the air and the applicants unconsciously leaned towards the pink anthropomorphic animal. "Cooking!"

"Cooking?" One of the contestants asked, flabbergasted.

_"Huh. Cooking. Now that was a curveball of an exam phase topic, but it would be a change from running through swamps full of man-eating creatures." _Timmy thought with a sigh, relieved that this challenge was something easy and simple.

"Cooking?!" One of the contestants exclaimed, eyes widened. "We're not here to become chefs, lady! We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"

"So you are." Panini responded nonchalantly. "And I'm your examiner, which means, I get to choose the topic for this phase whether you like it or not. Your challenge is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."

"Why the hell do we have to cook?! I thought Hunters were supposed to hunt down and kill creatures, not cook!" The boy retorted. Irritation started to build in Edd at the applicants' reaction towards the topic of the Second Phase.

"Arguing with the Examiner isn't going to change the topic of the exam, got that platypus?!" Buttercup exclaimed loud enough for all of the applicants to hear. "So why don't you just let the phase begin already, lady?" Said platypus' angry eyes combed the crowd for the source of the voice; however he failed to find Buttercup, as she was towards the back of the group and hidden behind tall people.

"Just cool down, Edward. We're not here to make the Examiner angry." One of the boys commented as the now identified Edward turned forward once again. "Whatever, just don't talk to me Lazlo!"

"I like the enthusiasm this boy has. He got some guts." Panini commented, then looked directly at Edward, hands on her hips. "I'll tell you why we're making you guys cook for the exam, boy. It's because we're Gourmet Hunters. We are specialized in the acquisition of high-level ingredients." She paused as she would continue her explaination.

"Due to the difficulties inherent in securing certain ingredients, many of us have trained our abilities to superhuman levels. We risk our lives hunting ingredients which are rich in flavor." She said as silence was followed. Though, it didn't last long as Edward broke the silence.

"So, Gourmet Hunters... What are we supposed to make then?" The platypus enquired as the large animal boulder known as Chowder stepped out from behind the couch Panini had been lounging on. The contestants felt the ground shake from under their feet.

**_Bam! Bam! Bam!_**

"The required ingredient is Regal Mammoth!" The man boomed. "They are one of the largest living creatures. They are beasts that has existed since the stone age and are regarded as a gourmet treasure by humanity along with the Magma Tortoise. When you capture one, you must use the facilities here to prepare the Mammoth."

Eddy looked back at what was available more closely; stoves, roasting pits, knives, vegetables, pots, salt, pepper and staple foods. Well, at least the resources available gave him the ability to make anything that was in his cooking repertoire-roasts and simple soups and stews.

Eddy always prided himself in his cooking, he generally cooks all of his family's meals. Home cooking is his forte, and he especially prides himself in Italian and French cuisine. He is not a cheapskate when it comes to ingredients to make a delicious meal, and he will spend a great deal of time in order to make something extravagant.

"And you only pass if both me and my husband find it delicious." The woman added. "We're going to evaluate more than just the taste," Panini added coolly, narrowing her eyes. "So don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking, all right newbies? Oh, and FYI - the exam phase ends when Chowder and I have both eaten our fill."

Edward moved his hands like he was batting away a fly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! All right we get it, woman! Let's just get this started, gee."

"Then the second phase of the Hunter Exam shall now begin!" Chowder exclaimed as everyone headed out in the forest of Marzipan City.

* * *

**｢ ****Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**************｟ 20:59 PM ｠**

* * *

"Catch a mammoth and cook it..." Dexter said as he along with Dee Dee, Johnny, Bubbles, Buttercup, Timmy and the Ed Boys climbed up a hill.

"This is way easier than the First Phase." Johnny commented, smirking.

"Hopefully... Mammoths aren't an easy catch." Timmy murmured.

"See any Mammoths, Buttercup?" Bubbles enquired.

"Nope." The raven haired girl responded, she was using her powers to levitate into the air. "Just a bunch of trees."

"Hm, I wonder why... It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that we're in a forest?" Eddy enquired in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

"Shut up." The green Powerpuff retorted making Eddy smirk.

"Found them!" Dee Dee said, pointing her index somewhere in the forest.

Ed looked around. "Found wh-" His question was cut off as he saw what Dee Dee had found. "Oh."

The nine had slid down to a clearing of sorts with the Regal Mammoths. They have a strong and rotund furry body covered in stripes and has exactly six muscular legs and two long trunks. Its tusks look sharp and prominent and its teeth look equally sharp, they have a long, thick tail that is dragged about as it moves with reptilian-like characteristics. What appear to be its ears are actually small vestigial wings with which it was supposedly able to fly with long ago.

"Uh, you guys..." A bead of sweat trailed down Edd's face. "L... Look at that..." The ski-hat wearing Ed boy murmured, pointing his index finger at the Mammoths. They would inhale several beasts into their snouts, digesting them, and spitting the bony remains through their snouts once again.

**_Swoooosh...! Crackle! Crackle!_**

"They're carnivores?!" Timmy asked. The nine of them met eyes with the mammoths they were closest to and for a tense, silence was followed as a staring competition between the group and mammoths occured.

Then the beasts roared, the sound released akin to the roar of a steam engine. The other mammoths in the clearing turned towards the beast that had made the sound and started roaring as well. Soon thereafter, the group could hear the roars of mammoths coming from farther and farther and farther away.

"Exactly how many of them are there?!" Edd breathed heavily. Nobody answered, since they were more focused on the mammoth that was now glaring at them with it's amber-colored eyes. The beast took a step forward.

**_Thumb!_**

_"It's about time to make an exit."_ Edd thought. He screamed and as if on cue the nine applicants scrambled up to the feet. In the next few moments, they were desperately clambering up a grassy hill, trying to put as much distance between the mammoths and themselves.

Thanks to the slow acceleration of the mammoths, the group was able to make it to the top of the hill before the mammoths hit their dangerously fast stampeding speed. Applicants who had been searching for beasts near the grassy hill heard yelling and a thundering sound and they looked to see what it was.

A herd of gigantic mammoths had not been on the list of expected sources of the sound.

_**Thumb! Thumb! Thumb!**_

Applicants screamed and scattered like baby spiders. The mammoths rammed into the slower applicants with their abnormally large snouts extended, inhaling and thereafter disgest them.

**_Swoooosh...! _**

"These mammoths are insane!" Dexter screamed as he saw the applicants being devoured.

"What'd you expect?! This whole exam is crazy!" Edd yelled back. The group of nine bolted for the border of the forest, leading the mammoths into the main body of the crowd of applicants. With the appearance of new people the mammoths began to split away from the herd, each going after a single applicant with a crazed, determined look in their eyes.

"That's it, I had enough of them!" Buttercup exclaimed, she would not back down without a fight. Never. "Take that!" She roared as she would clench her fist and land a punch on the mammoth's forehead, breaking it's skull.

The mammoth cried out in pain and thereafter rolled onto its side, dead. She would soon after set her eyes on the other mammoths and kill them along with the other remaining applicants though with great difficulty unlike the raven haired girl.

"Oh wow, and people say I have a hot temper issue..." Eddy commented, flabbergasted.

* * *

**｢ ****Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**************｟ 21:23 PM ｠**

* * *

Chowder and Panini were astonished by the number of applicants that came streaming in through the mansion gates carrying dead mammoths over their heads.

"Wow, those newbies caught a lot." Panini observed, surprise evident in her voice. She had expected more applicants to be killed or severely injured by the ferocious creatures known as the Regal Mammoth that lived deep within Marzipan City's exotic forests. So far, they only lost 35 applicants, making them 124.

Chowder just grinned, drool dripping from the side of his mouth in anticipation. "Oh, I can't wait to eat!" He said as the applicants scattered, each claiming a work station for their own. The Ed Boys and company took cooking stations that were near to each other.

Roasting pits flared to life, and soon the majority of the applicants were roasting the mammoths whole. Eddy crinkled his nose at the combined smell of charcoal and roasting meat and looked back at the mammoth he had carried back, which was so big that its limbs hung over the table and the girth blocked his view.

Bubbles squealed with delight at the sheer size of the mammoth. "What are you making?" She asked, looking at Eddy. "Probably roast, stew or soup." The spiky-headed Ed Boy responded simply as he debated what to do.

From the size of the mammoth, roasting it whole didn't seem such a good idea. While cooking at home, he had been taught that roasting was easier to do with small animals because the ratio of their surface area to their volume was smaller. This meant that the inside of the animal could be cooked thoroughly without burning the skin. Getting this perfect balance was difficult with larger animals, and roasting one improperly could result in the consumption of raw meat. And that could lead to a number of health problems that soldiers couldn't afford to worry about.

That left soup or stew, in which he could just plop chunks of cooked meat into. Eddy looked under the sink portion of the work station to see a huge pot, then glanced at the vegetables he had. He could make either one now, but then he remembered that the exam would end when both of the examiners were full.

That meant that it would be a more logical choice to cook soup since it would be quicker to finish. "Meh, soup it is." The short Ed boy said. With a swish and swift movements from his fingers, the apron that had been provided to each and every contestant, covered his front. Then Eddy took one of the knives started to make incisions that would make it easier to skin the mammoth.

_**Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!**_

"Woah, Eddy! You're pretty good at this stuff!" Ed commented, awestruck.

"You've improved since last time." Edd added.

"Well, yeah... This cooking stuff isn't anything new to me." Eddy responded as he finished skinning and next started gutting the mammoth.

"Tch, show off..." Buttercup muttered as the others would nod their heads in agreement.

* * *

**｢ ****Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**************｟ 21:49 PM ｠**

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the first dish was served, a golden-brown mammoth meat with barbecue sauce on a platter that looked very appetizing. Bubbles looked up from cutting vegetables, it was that Edward kid who argued with Panini earlier.

"Ok~ay, evaluation time." Panini said as she would pick up her fork and knife and cut the mammoth meat in small pieces. She would chew the food thoughtfully and shortly after, swallow it.

"So whad'dya say, lady? Is it good or is it good?" Edward enquired, smirking victoriously.

"It's decent. It looks appetizing visually, though the meat does not have much flavor, plus, it has a weird aftertaste. Though you tried to cover it in barbecue sauce. The cuts were nice - precise that you got the best meat out of it. The sauce is a bit too salty, you might need to add some spice the next time. You get a O.K from me." She stated as she would offer Chowder the plate of mammoth meat, which he ate in an instant.

"Delicious!" Chowder exclaimed, giving the platypus a thumbs up of approval.

"You may head over to the balloon carrier straight head within the forests of Marzipan City. Your Third Phase Examiner is waiting there." She said, pointing her index finger towards a certain direction.

"Heh, what can I say? I'm a master of cooking!" The boy exclaimed as he would walk within the forests of Marzipan City.

"I'm finally done!" Edd turned to the source of the voice and saw a boy with spiky flaming hair who he would quickly identify with, it was the number one hyperactive troublemaker Johnny Test of his school.

He was bringing a platter with a blackened mammoth on towards the examiners. Johnny put the platter down on the table, smirking as he would exclaim, "Okay! Tuck in and let me pass through!"

Chowder complied, and cut the mammoth meat into a one big piece. He would thereafter give him the thumbs up of approval; Panini, however, didn't take a single bite and gave Johnny the thumbs down of disapproval.

"Look at that meat." She said as she would pick up the mammoth meat, "Overcooked on the bottom, crispy as fuck, and it looks like Gandhi's flip flop." She said as she would throw the meat into the trash can. "You're out!"

"What?! That's bullshit! You haven't even tried it, lady!" Johnny protested, eyes widened.

"It's obvious I don't need to try it." The pink animal retorted. "Exit's that-a-way. Try again next year when you've improved your cooking skills, brat." She said, pointing her index finger towards a long stair that leads down to the underground.

"Stingy bitch..." Johnny growled as he turned his back on the examiners and walked down the stairs. Applicants continued to bring charred mammoths up to the two examiners and the pattern of Chowder approving and Panini not approving continued. And with each failing dish Panini's critiques became louder and harsher. By the time 45 minutes had passed all of her criticism could be heard by every applicant on the lawn.

Panini would exclaim the following words no person would use in their vocabulary:

"Oh my god... Right now I'd rather eat poodle shit than put that in my mouth."

"Look at that meat... It looks like a bison's penis! What is that shit?"

"This meat is so raw, that it's starting to eat the salad!"

"No one's passed yet..." Edd noted, cooking some soup for the Examiners.

"And Panini hasn't taken a bite on some of the applicants' dishes." Dexter followed. "Thus far, 50 applicants failed. That leaves us with 109 left, including us."

"And those who did pass were criticized for their dishes' taste." Dee Dee added.

"She's pretty hot for an animal, but I'll be damned if she ain't no toughie." Johnny commented.

"Hey! Can't any of you newbies cook a meal that both looks good and tastes good?" Panini hollered irritably from her couch, unamused.

Finally, it was Eddy's turn. The spiky-headed Ed boy came and handed her his dish. As Chowder ate his portion, he would give Eddy a thumbs up.

Panini however, sighed after she ate, "It's decent, kid. This one was creative. I never thought that someone would use the eggs of a Strawberry Tortoise. It's definitely a risk by giving it a too sweet taste - the opposite of a normal soup..." She paused for a brief moment as she would continue.

"Problem was that you need to cook it at a lower temperature and keep all the strawberry fragrance from leaving. Finally, the taste is lacking, you're pretty good for a newbie, but you still need practce. You pass." The woman proclaimed.

"Yes, yes, Madame Panini..."

"Don't use that tone against me, brat!" She called out as the spiky-headed Ed boy walked away to the same direction Edward went.

"Hmph, uncute brat." Panini pouted as she readied herself to take another bite of a applicant's horrible cooking.

* * *

**｢ ****Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**************｟ 21:24 PM ｠**

* * *

As he stepped out of the forest, Eddy was met with a red headed woman in her early 20s. Behind of her stood a large balloon carrier. His blue eyes would scan the balloon carrier standing right before his eyes.

"So I guess you're one of those lucky ones who passed through Panini, eh?" The woman enquired, a smile plastered across her face as she would scribble some notes down on her notepad.

"How many chefs in the world has she approved of?" Eddy asked, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Less than the numbers of fingers that she could count on her hand." She stated followed by, "Anyway, I'm Frankie Foster. I'm your Examiner for the Third Phase of the Examination. Now would you please enter the carrier as we are awaiting for the other contestants?" She asked, pointing her index finger towards the giant balloon.

Eddy shut his eyes close as he would shrug his shoulders, entering the balloon carrier. All he could do now was wait and hope Ed and Edd would pass through that pink canine.

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 **EXTRA **********」**

* * *

**Name: **Lazlo Romero.

**Date of Birth: **27 May, 1994. (12)

**Height: **157 centimeters. (5'1")

**Weight: **43.4 kilograms. (94 lbs)

**Blood Type: **O.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Acrobatics, Athletics, Camping.

**Grades:** Average.

**Favorite Food:** Banana Bread.

* * *

**Name: **Edward Stewart.

**Date of Birth: **22 November, 1994. (12)

**Height: **156 centimeters. (5'2")

**Weight: **42.5 kilograms. (92 lbs)

**Blood Type: **B.

**Occupation: **Middle School Student.

**Hobbies/Specialty: **Athletics, Camping, Video Games.

**Grades:** Average.

**Favorite Food:** Lemonade.

* * *

**************「 **Beast Dictionary **********」**

**| Regal Mammoth |**

* * *

The Regal Mammoth is a gigantic mastodon and one of the largest living creatures in this world alongside the Magma Tortoise. It is a beast that has existed since the stone age and is regarded as a gourmet treasure by humanity.

It is a species of incredible size and mass, and even as an infant, it still is a creature of great size. From birth, at 10 meters of length, they can grow up to 50 meters in a few weeks. The individuals that the applicants encountered has a body length of 1500 meters. A Regal Mammoth has a strong and rotund furry body covered in stripes and has exactly six muscular legs and two long trunks. It's tusks are sharp and prominent and its teeth are equally sharp, befitting its carnivorous nature. It even has teeth-like protrusions within its trunks to help kill and shred up beasts while sucking them into its body.

The Regal Mammoth is a creature with a mostly indifferent nature that goes wherever it pleases and pays no attention to anything in its way, carelessly crushing anything foolish enough to get in its path, while ruthlessly eating anything that catches its eyes or gets trapped during its eating process.

The Regal Mammoth isn't strong reproductively, but has incredible longevity, having a life span of 500 years. In that time, it never stops growing. Its gigantic body naturally gives it tremendous strength and titanic weight that can easily crush anything that gets in its path. Since its insides are that large, all manner of regular-sized beasts can live inside it, acting as an immune system that attacks anyone that enters the body.

According to old rumors, it used the wings on its back to fly long ago, however the species appears to have lost that ability over time or it may have just been ancient fairy tales.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Well, well... Another chapter is finished. Out of all the other chapters I've written, this one's my least favorite. I didn't feel any hype while writing this, though I loved writing down Panini and her Gordon Ramsay-esque personality. I can't wait to write down the second story arc... It'll ought to be my personal favorite arc to write down for this story.

A friend of mine requested Johnny Test as a main character and I was contemplating whether or not I should give him a major role in the _Ed Edd n Eddy X _series. I decided not to considering I am not the biggest fan of Johnny Test, instead, I gave him a cameo appearance in this chapter.

Anyway time to answer one of my reviews.

* * *

**************「 **REVIEWS **********」**

* * *

_zack25king: I have to say this is really good, I'm really liking Ed Edd Eddy X, and to think what inspired you to make this was Ed Edd Eddy Z (which is also a good fanfic series imo) By the way will anybody be using nen later on as the story goes on?_

Answer: Yes, the characters will utilize Nen once this arc ends. Though, not all characters will learn Nen.

_silvertailsGX: i must say, this chapter was made as perfect as it could be, i also enjoyed you including Edd's determination as well as showing Dee Dee and Johnny bravo, i loved it man. as a suggestion perhaps a fishing challenge or perhaps dodge ball challenge as you suggested. keep up the good work, oh and i am exited to what happens in this story as well._

_with that said i will just leave one question: will there be some more fun and epic moments in the next few chapters including more interaction with Dee Dee and Johnny as well Kevin and Eddy's rivalry_

Answer: Of course there'll be more fun and epic moments. I don't want the story to be too dark and edgy.

* * *

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions/requests for the next chapter or potential future main characters in your mind, feel free to leave it in your review or message me. I can't gurantee you that I will fulfill your request, but I will do my best. With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	7. Chapter VI: The Third Phase

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.**

**I changed the dialogue in Chapter I and II, minor, yet significant edit. With that said, enjoy the story!**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢ Somewhere in the Skies ****｣**

******| Nighttime |**

**************｟ 22:45 PM ｠**

* * *

After clearing the exam's Second Phase, the remaining applicants who passed flew through the night skies in a balloon carrier, their destination being the site for the Hunter Exam's Third Phase. They are gathered in the mouth of the airship, a spacious empty room with windows as walls, showing them the beautiful sight of the starry night skies.

"Allow me to introduce myself to the fifty-two remaining applicants. I am Frankie Foster, and I am your Examiner of the 297th annual Hunter Examination." Frankie stood in front of the gathered applicants, her secretary whose name is Wilt stood a few meter behind of her.

Wilt observed the remaining applicants standing in front of him. His eyes then narrowed a bit, his mouth playing into a smile, "I'm loving the atmosphere here! It's exciting to see rookies like you guys! It's like being in the middle of a NBA match!" Then he let out a soft laugh as his eyes closed.

"We are scheduled to arrive at our destination tomorrow morning, at 10 AM." Frankie announced, deciding it was time to do her job. "You'll find dinner waiting in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest in one of the ship's cabins. In other words, you're free to do as you please until you are contacted." With those words said, Frankie and Wilt exited the room. The applicants meanwhile, would mind their own businesses.

"Alright! We're still here and we're rolling!" Ed exclaimed, excited and thrilled to see how far everyone managed to make.

"Let's explore this place!" Eddy exclaimed, sounding just as excited as the orange haired Ed boy. "Double D, go get some rest, you need it." He added, flickering his eyes to look at Edd whose eyes were heavy. The ski hat wearing Ed boy would nod his head in understanding as he headed out of the hall and went to a cabin nearby.

"Sorry lil' man, Johnny here needs his beauty sleep. Otherwise, I'll be cranky." Johnny started, performing an Elvis Presley pose. "You ought to get some sleep too if you want to grow taller and be as handsome as me." He said as he headed to a cabin, Buttercup, Dexter and Timmy as well.

"That leaves the four of us..." Dee Dee commented, slightly disappointed. "That Dexter, he's so anti-social!"

"Meh, who needs them? Come on, let's explore this ship!" Eddy exclaimed.

"No way! I haven't ate anything since we ran that ninety-kilometers marathon! Let's go eat first!" Bubbles protested, feeling hungry. The golden haired girl would rub her stomach in circles.

"Alright then, first we eat then we'll explore this airship." Eddy concluded, his face showing just how excited he is. And with that, the four of them set off to the dining hall, grabbing something to eat.

While searching for the dining hall, they ended up opening every door they see. The first one they opened was an empty room with small windows here and there. The second one seemed to be an office of some sort. In the middle of the room is a wooden coffee table, with four pillow stools around it. Then, behind the coffee table, is an antique mahogany desk, piles of paperwork on top of it.

The left side of the wall consisted of a bookshelf while to the right is another desk, this one with even more paperwork on top of it. The third door they opened was a bedroom, a really simple one, queen sized bed, a bedside table with a lamp on top of it, a table across from the bed with a TV and a small couch at the foot of the bed. The next few doors are all similar bedrooms.

After taking a right turn to another hallway, the four adolescences found the kitchen. They decided to sneak in and take some food from there, they had given up on finding the dining hall, deciding to just explore the whole place until they find it. But now that they are in the kitchen, they see no reason why they can't just eat from there. Bubbles was against the idea of stealing food, but she shrugged it off. _"You only live once, so why the heck not?"_ She thought.

Sneaking in, they would hide under a table and grab a plate of food each. Once they were done eating, they would sneak out of the kitchen, closing the door of the kitchen behind of them. Eddy would release a light burp while Ed released an even louder belch, with it being strong enough to shake the entire airship. The four of them continued on with their journey to explore the whole airship until they each headed for a cabin to get some sleep.

* * *

**｢ Several Minutes Later ****｣**

******｟ 00:45 AM ｠**

* * *

The hallway lights were off and everyone else in the balloon carrier had gone to sleep. Except for one person. That was Eddy. He looked out through the window. Eyes full of turmoil and unrest, as if something was bothering him. As if he had a score to settle with a certain someone. _"Soon enough... I'll get enough power to kill you..."_

"Eddy?" A feminine voice asked, turning his head around he saw Bubbles standing in front of him. Bubbles' eyes were clearly sleepy, she rubbed them in an attempt to keep herself awake. "Why are you still awake during this hour?"

"Couldn't sleep, so decided to look out through the window out of boredom." He responded, without turning his head around to face her. The golden haired girl would nod her head in understanding, she would walk over to Eddy and sit beside of him on a bench, looking out through the window.

A beautiful sight was what she saw, city lights shone brightly, lighting the dark night sky like a million stars. Wow, that's incredible! It's like the ground is covered in jewels!" The golden haired girl exclaimed, mesmerized. She was excited to see this beautiful view. And indeed she was right, the lights did seem like they are jewels, covering the ground beneath them.

"Mhm." Eddy agreed, nodding his head with a faint smile plastered across face. He remained silent throughout the entire city gazing. No one uttered a single word until Bubbles all of a sudden decided to speak up. "Say, I was wondering..."

"Hmm?" Eddy hummed, a sign for Bubbles to continue speaking.

"Do you have any parents?" She enquired, looking into Eddy's blue eyes.

"Hmm... I have a mother but I don't know about my father. He's either alive or dead. Most likely dead, probably." Eddy responded with a really vague answer.

"What does your mother do for a living?" Bubbles asked out yet, another question out of curiosity.

"Assassination." Eddy stated nonchalantly. At this point, Bubbles turned to face him, eyes widened. "You... You mean like the ones who are willing to take peoples's lives for money?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah, those kind of Assassins. Though, it's not like we have a choice. My family is rather poor, financial-wise. Hence why we kill for a living."

"Your family, wait... You mean all of your family members are... Assassins?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah, all of them. I come from a long line of Master Assassins. From what I've heard from my Grandmother, my mother used to be a member of the Dark Brotherhood gang until she met my father. The Dark Brotherhood were a proud band of professional Assassins which historically possessed considerable influence and power but has recently fallen on considerably harder times. They believed in assassination for financial purposes." Eddy stated as he would continue his explaination.

"My father, from what I've heard from my grandmother, used to be a member of a the Hashshashin, a noble line of Assassins. The Hashashin Order pursued many goals throughout it's incredibly long existence, but it's main and highest objective was in the pursuit of total freedom and peace for all people. It was quite the hit back in the Renaissance Era in Italy." By this time, he had already sat up straight again, his chin resting on the palm of his right hand. His fingers were curled, only the index finger and his thumb are outstretched.

"I'm the heir of this dysfunctional family, but I don't want to inherit their business. I don't even want to associate myself with other Assassins." He said, pausing for a brief moment. "I'm not going to follow in other people's footsteps - I want to make my own." His expression was serious, and then his brows were furrowed, Bubbles was slowly beginning to understand the reason why people ignored Eddy.

Being put down because of one's heritage. Hated for something he cannot control. Hated because the blissful ignorance people have. While his heritage does sound rather intimidating, Eddy, as a person was rather carefree once you're acquaintated with him.

"Well, no matter about that!" Eddy exclaimed, standing up. "The better question is, why are _you_ still awake during this hour? Shouldn't you be getting some sleep, too?" Suddenly, he seems to be more lively and upbeat again. He would stare at the golden haired girl, his expression changing once again. This time, his expression is more childish then the previous expressions he showed. He then began rambling, back to his more childish side. He would put his arm around her shoulder and beam a cat smile.

"I... I'm scared of the dark..." Bubbles mumbled, blushing in embarrassment. She found it quite embarrassing that she was afraid of the dark, she would shriek everytime the light is turned off. She was scared of what could be lurking in the darkness. She seemed to be in some kind of dungeon everytime the darkness enveloped her.

Eddy would blink, tilting his head. "Really?" The golden haired girl would narrow her eyes at the spiky-headed Ed boy, pouting as he re-read her sentence.

"Look, there's nothing to be afraid of. The sun'll arrive in a few hours, plus, you are sleeping with your sister, Buttercup, right?" He asked which she nodded her head in response. "She'll make sure you are safe at any cost."

"If it makes you feel better, I to this day, still have a fear of needles." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Bubbles would smile faintly, yet, encouragely as she nodded her head. She was expecting him to poke fun of her anxiety like her sisters did on several occasions.

"Anyway! We better get some sleep! We got a long day tomorrow with the exams!" Eddy exclaimed, arms folded. Both him and Bubbles would head back to their cabins to get some sleep.

* * *

**｢ Several Minutes Later ****｣**

**｟ 00:59 AM ｠**

* * *

Back at Johnny's cabin, the golden haired man could be seen in the bathroom checking himself out in the mirror, a smug look plastered across his face as he would flex his muscles. He had been doing this for hours, instead of going to sleep. "Man, I look great!" Looking at his reflection, his smirk widened, checking himself out in a way that was definitely fueling his already overactive sex drive. "Hee! Hah! HOO!"

Dexter suddenly felt a chill run down from his spine. "What the heck is this sensation? Something cold just ran down my spine..." The boy genius said, wrapping his arms around his own shaking frame in a desperate attempt to warm himself up.

"Phew! I feel refreshed!" Johnny said as he exited the bathroom, stark naked much to Dexter's horror. "Ahhh!"

"Argh! Ouch! Arghhhh!"

**_FWOOOOOOOSH!_**

* * *

**｢ Ed and Eddy's Cabin ****｣**

* * *

**_FWOOOOOOOSH!_**

"Huh?" Ed rose up from his bed, he was pretty sure he heard something or someone. His ears would never mistaken.

"What's wrong?" Eddy asked, combing his hair.

"Did you just hear something?" The orange haired Ed boy asked, looking at Eddy.

"Nah, probably just the waves." The spiky-headed Ed boy responded, placing his comb on the end table.

"You think so?" He asked, blinking.

"Let's wake up early and go adventuring again!" Eddy said, smiling towards the orange haired Ed boy.

"Yeah, let's do that. Okay, let's go to sleep!"

"Kids needs plenty of sleep to grow taller and get healthier." With those words said, Eddy would turn off the lights and head off to sleep.

* * *

**｢ Dexter and Johnny's Cabin ****｣**

* * *

Meanwhile back at Dexter and Johnny's cabin, the lights and everyone went to sleep, everything seemed peaceful with the exception of Johnny, who was grumbling. His face was all swollen up and crisped. "What the hell did I do wrong? We're both guys... That kid's even worse, imagining weird things..."

* * *

**｢ July 18th, Tower of Rebirth, United States ****｣**

**| Morning |**

******｟ 10:45 AM ｠**

* * *

Dawn breaks, as the airship carries it's fifty-two applicants in the air, they finally reached their destination for the Third Phase of the Hunter Examination. They were all standing a top of a tall tower, much to Edd's surpise.

"Alrighty, now that everyone are gathered, the Third Phase of the Hunter Examination will begin here, at the top of the Tower of Rebirth." Frankie said followed by, "To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is 97 hours - four days, if you don't reach the tower's base within four days, you will fail this year's exam. With that said, we will now initiate the Third Phase. I wish you guys the best of luck, really you need it." Frankie informed the applicants as she along with Wilt went on the airship and left the applicants behind here at the Tower of Rebirth.

"Are they freaking joking with me?" Timmy whispered to himself, eyes widened with shock. How were they supposed to get down from this tower that is approximately 828 tall, the buck-toothed boy wondered.

Meanwhile, Dexter looked around the flat surface of the Tower of Rebirth. Strands of his red hair were blowing in the crisp morning wind. They hadn't landed at 10 AM sharp in the morning like Examiner Frankie had said, instead they had landed around 10:45. Though, it was later, the tall tower still had a crisp breeze from it's height. And having seen the man get eaten by the strange beasts with human-like faces that flew from the surrounding forests, climbing down this tower was not an option, at all.

Four days was their limit, 97 hours. That much was certain. As his cerulean eyes scanned the flat area, he noticed other participants had disappeared. That was strange. _"So there is a way down..." _The boy thought as he would search for hours, trying to figure it out, but he saw no definite pattern in the shapes of the stones. Tower of Rebirth truly was a puzzle.

Meanwhile, as Edd was examining a tile, his feet suddenly gave a way.

**_Clink!_**

The ski-hat wearing Ed boy would scream while someone yelled along with him. He landed lightly on his feet and looked around the room. He was met with Buttercup, Dexter, Ed, ward the Platypus and Eddy. Edd would shut his eyes closed, sighing in relief that he wasn't alone or better yet, dead. "Good grief, I nearly had an heart attack..."

"So I guess you also found the hidden tile, eh sockhead?" Eddy asked, his hands dug into his pockets.

"Yeah, you too." Edd responded, nodding his head. He would walk up to a sign followed by others. There was five stopwatches on the table.

_"So, you've managed to find the hidden trap doors, each. Good."_ A masculine voice interjected over the intercom. _"One of you must take into account what the last member without the stopwatch decides to do, since there are six of you and five watches."_

Ed walked closer to the sign, and read it. "Majority Rules... Huh? That sounds exciting!" The orange haired Ed Boy exclaimed as he would pick up the watch and examine it. It had the countdown with an X and O button.

"Hey, no fair monobrow!" Edward yelled. "You can't just decide if you get the last watch or not!" Ed shrugged her shoulders and tossed the watch to Edward, "I didn't want the watch, anyway. I can't make decisions under pressure."

The green Powerpuff groaned, "Great. We'll have the platypus voting against us the entire time, probably."

"No, that's not how it goes." Eddy said while leaning against the wall. "Just because Ed don't have a watch doesn't mean he don't get a say in a vote. Both he and Edward fell in together simultaneously. He has to listen to his argument and better have a good reason not to vote her way or else I will chop his hand off and give the watch to Dexter or Double and let them vote whatever she says."

Edward glared at Eddy, "Fine." With that said, he would put the watch on and smirk, "Alrighty!" Part of the wall slid up revealing a door with a message on it.

"Intriguing." The boy genius commented, nodding his head. "So the door appears once five people arrive and put on the stopwatches."

"At this door... Select O to open or X not to open...'" The orange haired Ed Boy read. The youngsters studied the sign, they weren't sure how much information the others knew already, but they had no choice but to open the door.

Edward scoffed and rolled his eyes, "O obviously, duh." He said as the group would press on the O button. When the results popped up, it had five by O and zero by X.

_**Clank!**_

The group would walk through that door, and face various of signs along their way.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**| Afternoon |**

**｟ 17:20 PM ｠**

* * *

After many hours of walking and encountering countless of signs, the youngsters' path came to an abrupt end. Buttercup moved to a place where she could see better. Below them was a dark abyss while ahead was this bizarre arena and across was another area. _"__How deep was that darkness? Was it even deep or was it an illusion?"_

"Wh-What is this place?" Edd asked nervously .

"Look over there." Eddy said, pointing his index finger straight ahead. Across the way stood five people, cloaked with metal cuffs on their hands.

"The applicants have arrived..." Edward heard one of them speak. "Remove the shackles."

"Wait, those guys had been waiting for us?" The platypus spoke up, eyes full of curiosity. When the shackles hit the ground, Edd thought they would have broken the ground with how heavy they sounded. The ski-hat wearing Ed boy took a step back.

"Aw, hell yeah." A man groaned then removed his cloak. It was a large and tall dark anthropomorphic animal. "I'm finally free!" He exclaimed. He had an annoyingly cocky smirk plastered on his face.

Edd swallowed hard as they stood there, a good distance away from the guy who is smirking.

_"Allow me to explain."_ The voice from the intercom started, _"Before you are some of Tower of Rebirth's prisoners."_

"Prisoners?" Dexter cocked an eyebrow at this.

"The Hunter Examination Committee has also officially hired the prisoners as Examiners." The masculine voice said as he would continue, "You will be fighting against the six of them. The fights will be one-on-one. Each person may only fight once. You are free to use any method you like. There will be no draws. A win is declared when the opponent admits defeat or is unable to fight."

"You may pick your order!" The man across the way proclaimed, the tone of his voice was thrilled, excited to fight. As if he hadn't picked up a sword for many centuries. "It's Majority Rule. So secure four wins, and you may pass. The rules are simple as eating pie."

"Tsk." Buttercup scoffed. "That Majority Rules crap again?" Edward looked at the raven haired as he would speak up, "That is the path we're on, tomboy. But we've come across an unnecessary problem." Everyone looked at Edward.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked.

"Technically, there should be five, but they bent the rules for this situation to allow blondie to participate in the fights." He explained followed by, "They're planning to kill us."

_"No... No... No... No... NO! I don't want to fight to death damn it!" _Edd thought, his feet were starting to tremble uncontrollably._  
_

"Guess we don't have any other choice but to fight then." Eddy said nonchalantly.

"That is correct." Dexter said. "And we must reach the goal within eighty-five hours. Up until now, I never thought we would have to kill someone to pass the Examinaton."

"Alrighty." The prisoner murmured, stepping forward to the arena as he would exclaim. "I, Black Pete, am up first. Choose your combatant and do it fast!"

"What should we do?" Edward asked. "He said we can fight with any method. So that means anything goes. Right?"

"Guess I'll have to go first." Buttercup volunteered as the bridge came out and reached the arena in the middle. Stepping forward to the arena, she would stand right before Black Pete, her emerald green eyes piercing into his onyx eyes. The prisoner would smirk viciously at the courageous girl.

"Now, let's determine the method of combat. A death battle!" He screamed in a sadistic glee as he would lunge at Buttercup. The anthromorphic criminal would pull back his fist, about to deliver a heavy punch to finish off this girl.

Meanwhile, Buttercup would tense and get into the Peek-a-Boo boxing stance. She would take a deep breath as she would enter a state in which she could see everything around her in slow motion. As the prisoner was nearing the raven haired girl, she would raise her fists and deliver devastating jabs with incredible speed.

**_Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!_**

"H... How..." Pete stuttered, eyes widened. The pain in his abdomen was excruciating. His vision was starting to get blurry, slowly fading away. But he could see the blood dripping down to the floor. Coughing up more blood, Pete fell to his knees, keeping himself up with his hands against the floor, unfortunately though, he fell flat on the floor, losing consciousness.

"P-Pete!" One of the prisoners exclaimed, their eyes were widened with awe and shock.

"This girl punched him in no more but five seconds and he's already done for..." A prisoner commented.

"Thank goodness I am not going up against this kid." One of the prisoners added.

"It seems like your friend here is unable to battle me, I suppose that makes us the winner for this match, right?" She enquired, looking at the prisoners who nodded their heads in response. "Good." With that, she would nonchalantly kick Pete up to the prisoners with no dificulty. She would thereafter turn around and head back to the group, hands dug into her pocket.

A 1 appeared on their side of the room, above the Ed Boys and group. "Shit, if those brats wins three more rounds, we'll lose and our sentence will be extended..."

"Holy crap, that girl's crazy..." Edward commented, eyes widened. The others would nod their heads in agreement, taking mental notes not to piss off Buttercup. "Man, this fight was lame..." Buttercup said as she sat on the edge, resting her arms on her legs and placing her head in her hands.

"Alright! I'm up next!" One of the prisoners exclaimed, it was a tall, obese young man with light brown hair. He would step up to the arena, arms folded.

"Heh, I guess it's my turn to go. The next opponent doesn't look too strong, so it'll be easy. Any objections, big guy?" Edward asked, seemingly to Ed who shaked his head no in response. "Good." The platypus said as he would step up to the arena, standing in front of the obese young man.

"But you can't let your guard down, nonetheless." Dexter told him. "He's still a criminal despite of his sloppy appearance."

"I can beat fatty at my own game, there's no need to worry about that."

"Do you really think you can beat him?" Buttercup asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well of course I can, Powerpuke Girl!" Edward retorted, followed by. "In fact, I am not scared at all!" He exclaimed, a smirk crept across his face. His expression was full of confidence, his spirit was unyielding.

"So I guess your leg is shaking out of eagerness, eh?" Eddy asked, deadpanned.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, SHORTY! I'M JUST SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" Indeed, the platypus' legs were trembling, proving just how truly terrified he was.

"This isn't the time to pretend tough..." The spiky-headed Ed boy added in, teeth clenched

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Edward yelled back.

"Now then..." The prisoner started, "As you may know, I am not the strongest among my team. I don't really enjoy any physical activities such as hand-to-hand combat, running or jumping."

"Yeah, I think we all know that fatty." Edward responded, his pose was dignified - merciless as he was staring into the prisoner's brown eyes.

"Aye, I am not fat! I am just big boned!" The obese young man would retort, cooling down from the platypus' insult. "So how about a game or some sort? Considering your team was the winner of the previous match, you get to choose what game we should play for this match."

Just as those words were said, Edward grinned, ear to ear. He would dig his left hand into his pocket and thereafter lift it out of his pocket, taking out a white case. "I know just what sort of game we can play that we both might enjoy." He said as he would snap open the case and take out a small capsule. Pressing on the small button of the capsule, Edward would throw it onto the ground.

**_Poof!_**

As the capsule hit the floor it exploded into a sphere of smoke which caught the prisoner and the others in surprise. What appeared right before the prisoner was a mini refrigerator.

"W... What the hell was that?" The prisoner enquired, taken aback.

"Hoi Poi Capsules. The most convenient object for traveling purposes." Edward said as he would open the refrigerator and take out two cans of sodas.

"I challenge you to a lemonade drinking contest." The platypus declared, eyes blazing with determination. However, just as those words escaped his lips, the prisoners started to laugh out loud, pointing their index fingers at the boy. Much to Team Ed's embarassment.

"What? Just a game of drinking lemonade? Heh, piece of cake!" The obese boy responded, smirking.

"The man who can release the loudest belch wins, simple as that. Got that?" Edward asked which the prisoner nodded his head in understanding. He would thereafter give him a can of lemonade. "On my signal..." He started as he would tap the can on his lemonade thrice a few times. "Now!" With that said, both combatants opened up their soda and began chugging it down hurriedly.

"Can you feel it, fatty?" Edward asked, his grin never faded from his face.

"Not the slightest, platypus." The prisoner retorted. With those words said, they would sip some more of Edward's lemonades. Placing their drinks down to the ground, Edward and the prisoner started their belch off, both coming off pretty loud, loud enough to scare away the birds outside of the tower.

"Was that your best shot?" Edward taunted as he belched three times, grinning as he wiped his mouth with his right elbow.

The prisoner scoffed. "Please! Your burp ain't enough to top I, Eric Theodore Cartman's burps. Watch THIS." Cartman belched loud enough to shake the entire area, causing the people to stumble about as he sipped some more of her soda.

Edward shook a bit, before shaking it off and pointing at Cartman. "It's not over yet, fatty!" He taunted as he drank up all of his soda, sighing of relief as he waited, before launching a loud burp. "I was nominated the gassiest person back in the Kidney Camp for a reason!"

Cartman folded his arms. "Really, then? Well, guess I'll- BRAAP!" He covered his mouth breifly, revealing it as he grinned proudly. "Can you top that?"

"I don't know about any of you, but I find both of those guys revolting." Dexter commented which the others would nod their heads in agreement.

Cartman chuckled as he placed his hands on his stomach, releasing a belch loud enough to shake the entire area, causing several life boats outside of the tower to fall into the salty sea water below nearby.

Feeling somewhat impressed, Edward clapped. "Okay, I'll give you that, fatty." He stated as he then drank up all of his soda, licking his lips as he proclaimed while pointing at himself, "But wait until you get a load of this one. Heh, heh..."

Cartman shook his head as he laughed at Edward. "Hah! Hah! Hah! You really think you could out belch me, platypus? I don't think so!" He exclaimed, smirking towards Edward, taunting, "Tell you what, if you could out belch me, I surrender. Okay?"

Edward grinned, shaking Cartman's hand in agreement. "You got a deal." And thus, two to three minutes passed as the two combatans stared down at each other.

"Well..." Carmtan started as he grinned, his arms folded, "I'm still waiting."

Edward felt his stomach gurgling, and he smirked back at Cartman. "All right, fat boy, get ready to get served..." Just as those words were said, Edward would take a deep inhalation and let out one earth rumbling belch, probably the largest burp they've heard in their lives. Wide-eyed, everyone would look at the platypus with awe in their eyes. Edward, meanwhile, would clear his throat and grin.

"Okay, that's it. I quit. Screw that exam." Cartman said as he would get on his feet, and head back to the other prisoners.

"Heh, thought you'd say that." The platypus said, smirking victoriously as he headed back to the Ed Boys and company. "Make way for Edward, the unconquered!"

"To think that this stupid lemonade drinking contest would actually work..." Dexter muttered, awestruck. The others would just nod their heads in agreement as Edward was approaching the group once again.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**| Afternoon |**

******｟ 17:50 PM ｠**

* * *

Twenty hours has passed, and the sun was slowly setting once again. Edd would glance down at his stopwatch, "It's 17:50 PM right now. It has been twenty and a half of hours since Dexter started his chess match against this Doofenshmirtz prisoner. It was so far, the longest chess match he has seen. The match lasted for 269 moves and took 20 hours and 30 minutes to complete. Luckily, Dexter came out victorious as Doofenshmirtz decided to knock his king down.

"Now all we need is one more point, and then we can pass through those goons." Dexter said, approaching the group, hands dug into his pockets.

"Gawd, I never thought that damned match would ever end!" Edward exclaimed, "You've just wasted twenty and a half of hours for a stupid chess match, third eyes! Now we only got sixty hours left to leave this tower before deadline! Hey! Are you listening?"

"So, whose turn is it now?" Dexter asked, but nobody would answer.

"I suppose it's my turn now." Eddy announced. Eddy's opponent took of his cloak as his restraints fell down to the ground. Edd would cower in horror by the prisoner's appearance and exclaim the following to Eddy, fear lacing his words, "Don't fight that guy, Eddy! Let's just let those guys win this round! That's Bryan Fury! He was a former officer of Interpol until he went insane and started to kill people. And it was out of boredom on top of that! He felt no remorse killing all those innocent people, including women and children while on his liberty." He would exclaim as he continued.

"What's worse is that his moves are so brutal and he's so hard to stop once he enters this bizarre "Monster" mode. In short, he's just a selfish, destructive robot humanoid." He added, watching every movement Bryan made.

Bryan walked forward, the other prisoners stepped out of his way. The prisoner would growl for a moment as he would punch through a brick wall. He would grin maliciously as he spoke up, "It's been a long time since I got to punch something. Hahaha..." He said as he would step up to the arena.

"Double D, relax. I got this. Remember?" Eddy said, placing a hand on Edd's shoulder, putting slight pressure upon the touch, his voice reassuring. One of the many memories of Edd would return. _"Oh, that's right... Asassination... I am definitely not going to like this..."_

"Well, here I go. Wish me the best of lucks." He said as he would walk across the bridge, Buttercup would scoff and fold her arms. Jealous that the short-heighted Ed Boy got to confront the best opponent.

"How will we fight? Will it be a game or something?" Eddy asked, standing right before the infamous murderer.

Bryan let out a small, yet, vicious laugh. "Fight? Muahahahaha…! No, I want to kill you, kiddo. This is a massacre. I won't make this an exclusion for you. Children do not receive any mercy from me. Especially when they squeal as loud as you will do very soon. I'm gonna rip your small intestine out of your mouth, and rip your large intestine out your butt, and use you as a skipping rope."

"I see... You think that dying is better than losing a mere spar, right?" Eddy asked, blue eyes met gray.

"Yes, and I will smear your insides with tuna, hang a fishing hook down your throat, and hook out your organs one by one. I will kill you now so I can continue living my warrior life in honor. I..." Bryan would pause before he continue any further with his boast.

_**Swish!**_

Eddy already disappeared and reappeared behind Bryan, his hand was bloody. It was formed into a fist, a hidden blade emerged from his sleeve. "You were saying?" Everyone's eyes, except for Buttercup, Ed and Edd's, would widen in horror and shock.

Bryan's head fell of his body and onto the ground, rolling towards Eddy. His eyes were pupiless, dead. Blood gushed out from his still standing body until it finally went limp and fell flat to the ground

Everyone had mixed feelings by the spiky-headed Ed Boy's skill, Dexter in particular. He was disgusted by the sight of the prisoner's corpse. He would turn his head to look at Ed whose awestruck and yet, excited expression never faded.

"Monsters shouldn't call themselves _warriors_." Eddy said, followed by. "You self-centered bastard." His eyes would sharpen, giving it a darker look. His eyes turned from it's usual carefree cerulean blue eyes to icy cold. Dexter was sure he saw a sadistic grin plastered across his face.

Yes, a wretched grin _has_ spread across the boy's face. His expression was similar to that of a villain's in a comic book series. That of an eagle who had just swooped down and caught a snake in it's talons. That of a predator killing it's prey.

_"I already knew that Eddy and his family were infamous for their notorious profession in Assassination but I never thought I'd see it in live action. Those eyes, the eyes of a lion who is ready to kill just about anything that enters their territory.__ He's like another person with that look on his eyes... A monster..._"

"In the end, the winner is the last man that is standing. Which is unfortunately me." He taunted the now dead prisoner, he would step on the man's head, slowly pressing his feet until his skull was crushed open. Blood, as red as tomato, oozed out of his broken head.

"Holy shit! What the heck just happened?!" Edward shouted, awestruck.

"Assassination. That's what happened, platypus." Buttercup added in, vileness seeping into her voice. She would never bring herself to take another person's life. At best, she would leave her opponents injured with two to three fractured limbs before knocking them unconscious. She would never resolve to such foul methods, there is no honor in that in a fight.

"What?!" Edward screamed, eyes widened like dinner plates.

"Alright, now we have four wins out of zero. A bit disappointing, this guy was all talk but no action... Still he was gutsy, I give him that." Eddy said, putting his hands back into his pockets. He would turn around to face one of the prisoners, "We've completed this stage, right?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Y... Yeah..." One of the prisoners responded, it seemed like he hadn't expected this sort of outcome either. "You guys win..." With those words said, Eddy and company would walk through the door on the prisoners' side. Continuing their quest through the crucial Tower of Rebirth.

"Tell me, Eddy... How did you... Uhm, you know... Slice the prisoner's head?" Dexter asked, just as curious as the others.

"Oh, that was easy." The boy started, he would unsheathe his hidden blade catching the others off guard. "The actual mechanism of this blade is very simple, there is a small mechanism attached to my wrist, hidden under my sleeve." He said, clearing his throat as he would continue. "By either pulling a small and thin string, or holding down a lever, my blade will pop up, allowing instant assassinations."

_"This guy is dangerous... I don't know whether he is on our side or not. I'll keep my eyes on that guy until then..."_ Dexter thought, eyes narrowed at the spiky-headed Ed boy.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**| Evening |**

**｟ 19:35 PM ｠**

* * *

It had been twenty-nine hours and forty-five minutes since they had started running down the tower. Edward was exhausted, even though he had demanded that someone would give him a piggy back. So far, they had to crawl under lasers, run faster than an enormous boulder, and avoid the countless blades swinging across the hallway. Such a pain. Edd was constantly moaning about how he should have taken up more physical education. Next time, he would listen to Ed and Eddy.

They were now at a path labeled, "The Last Crossroad." The walls were made of brick and weapons lined the walls. There was a single steel slab with several pairs of handcuffs hanging from it. Two doors stood in front of them with a grotesque decoration of a human body with spikes protruding from it above them.

_"Candidates, this is the last division point on the Path of Majority Rule."_ Someone explained over the intercom.

_"The grueling Majority Rule ends here, but you will also have to pick a door. There are two doors to choose from. If you press 'O', all five of you can go, but it is a longer and harder path. If you press 'X', only five of you can go, but it is a shorter and easier path."_ The voice paused as he would continue.

_"If you press 'X', the door will open once one of you people are chained to the wall. That person will not be able to move for the remaining time. Also, the longer path will take you at least forty-seven hours to finish, no matter how fast you go. If you press 'X'' you can get to the goal in approximately three minutes. Now, pick 'O' or 'X', using Majority Rule."_

Eddy frowned. He was with Ed and Edd, his friends - family – he would definitely pick 'X'. There was no way he would leave them behind. Not now, not ever.

Edd meanwhile, clenched his hands at this sentence. For a brief moment, he wanted to smash those stupid decoration but kept his temper. Losing his temper will not do them any good. _"They'll have to stay here until the time is up." _Screw his temper; he was going to break that statue because he wasn't going to leave anyone behind.

These five people were his friends, each to a big and less extent, and to leave them behind was practically a sin to him. He will never be the type of person to leave a friend behind, especially when they need him and trusted him.

Edward spoke up, looking at the five of them with such seriousness that even surprised Buttercup. "I'm going to press 'O'." Edward announced, "I've made it this far from the First Phase to the Third. I am not going to lose. I am going to become a Hunter no matter what. I have no intention of staying here."

"I'm with platypus on this one." Yes, she would become a Hunter. She would become a Hunter and earn enough money to buy a Philosopher's Stone. Life runs on money nowadays, and with money you can buy happiness.

Edd gritted his teeth at the platypus' words and rubbed his forehead as he tried to think about the best solution. How can they get to the bottom of the tower when they have these two overwhelming choices? On one hand, they could just pick the long path and get it over and done with however, both Edward and him didn't seem to have the stamina to keep it up for another couple of hours.

He looked down at the ground and stared at the four other youngsters, remembering the reasons why they chose to become Hunter. All of them had good reasons and all of them genuinely want to become Hunters, unlike him. Edd initially thought both Ed and Eddy only participated in the Hunter Exams to fulfil their boundless greed. No, it was beyond that.

Apparently, Eddy wanted to become a Hunter so he can get more power to destroy a certain someone. Ed wanted to become a Hunter so he can earn more money to support his family, who're poor. These guys have more of a reason to become a hunter then him. They all have something they want to do with the title than him.

What does he want with that title? He wanted to become a Hunter for the money, get into a good university and become a doctor. Then again, he could find a job, earn money and use his child savings when he turns eighteen to get into a good university, despite said university not being Harvard. He feels like he is holding everybody back, he felt like he was there just to be there.

So why did he actually took these exams up? What was his real purpose of taking these exams? He doesn't even know the answer. "If you guys press 'X' then I'm staying behind." Edd announced which seemed to shock everyone at this. "The five of you have good reasons for becoming a Hunter, and I honestly don't really want to become a Hunter now when I think about it. The concept is intriguing and all but, it doesn't really suit me."

"But Double D, what about your dream of becoming a doctor? Don't you want to achieve that dream?" Ed asked, voicing everyone's questions out loud.

Edd hesitated before smiling at them. "Of course I do, I want to become a doctor and save millions of lives, but that could wait." He admitted, giving them a smile. Eddy frowned at this.

"I'll press on 'O'." Ed said, staring at his ski-hat wearing friend with determination. "We came here from the Preliminaries to Third Phase, so I want us to exit together as a team. I won't leave one of my best friends behind. If neither one of us passes through this Exam, I'll forfeit no matter what." He said as Eddy would nod his head in agreement.

"We'll never leave an Ed behind, and remember this!" Eddy exclaimed, pointing his index finger towards Edd.

"Ed... Eddy... Both Edward and I don't seem to have enough stamina to keep up with you." Edd said, frowning at him. "I like the idea of us going together as a team, but we have to be practical here."

"No, Double D! We are all going to become a Hunter!" Ed exclaimed as he would turn his head to face the green Powerpuff, "Buttercup, you possess superhuman strength, right? Think you can make a hole on a wall?" Ed asked the green Powerpuff.

The raven haired girl furrowed her eyebrows at this sudden question before nodding her head. "Of course I can do that." She would occassionally forget the fact that she even got superpowers in the first place.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Ed asked once again.

"Yes, I can." Well, she can at the very least try considering the fact that she never truly gained full control of her own powers.

"What are you planning to do, Ed?" Dexter asked.

"The plan is for us to break into the short path from the long path." Ed stated, shocking everyone. Ed can behave like a total goofy otter at times, but on desperate times he can spout out the most intelligent words.

"For once, monobrow came up with something brilliant." Edward commented, his eyebrows were raised.

Buttercup nodded her head at them and gestured for them to stand away from her. They frowned at her but did as she asked, looking curious as they did so. She didn't blame them. None of them knew what she was capable of. But this doesn't matter; she needs to break down this wall. With that thought, she clenched her hand into a small fist and concentrated her energy into her fist, allowing it to glow green with her energy.

"Haaaaa!" She screamed, slamming her fist against the wall. She scratched her head in embarrassment when she saw that a huge hole had been formed instead of a small one as she had intended. Guess this shows that she needs to keep training on controlling her superpowers. It does look like it could actually kill someone or fatally injure them at the very least. Not something she actually wants to happen unless, said person had really pissed her off.

"T-That was amazing a-and scary." Ed muttered, turning his head to look at the hole that Buttercup made. "W-Who knew that someone so small have that much strength!"

"I'm not small!" Buttercup snapped.

"You're pretty small!" Edward exclaimed, smirking at her. "I mean, you barely reach my shoulder!"

"We're the same height, platypus!" The raven haired girl retorted.

"I'm taller than you by a few inches!" The platypus said with pride.

"No! You're not, you idiot! We're the same height!"

"No, we're not! You're barely the same height as four eyes!" He exclaimed, as the two of them would lock their gazes, snarling at each other. The intensity of their mutual loathing is so intense that it manifests as crackling streamers of lightning arcing back and forth between their eyes.

"... Can the two of you stop arguing and climb into the damn hole, already! We don't have all day, you know!" Dexter yelled, glaring at the two arguing preteens. "The two of you can argue about who's taller than who when we're out of here!"

Buttercup pursed her lips at him before nodding her head at him. "Fine." She stared at the hole that she made and glanced at the others, gesturing for them to go. The boys would nod their heads in understanding and run towards the hole, shortly followed by Buttercup.

* * *

**｢ Three Minutes Later ****｣**

**｟ 19:38 PM ｠**

* * *

_"THIRD ROUND, THIRD TO ARRIVE, BUTTERCUP UTONIUM. TIME USED: 57 HOURS AND 44 MINUTES. FOURTH TO ARRIVE, DEXTER MCPHERSON. TIME USED: 57 HOURS AND 46 MINUTES."_

Buttercup rubbed her ears at this announcement and scanned the room for, who announced her arrival. Don't they know how irritating loud voices were? Of course they didn't, they weren't the ones with keen senses. No, they were just born with ordinary senses.

She shook her head at her thoughts and frowned. It took her and the others fifty-seven hours to come here, so that means they will have fourty hours waiting for this Phase of the Exam to be finished. A very long time and she doubts she could wait that long without being crazy. She was never the patient one. Something that she had been told by so many people, from her family to the even kind Miss Keane, who always smiled at her impatience.

_"FIFTH TO ARRIVE, EDWARD HUGHES AND EDWARD SKIPPER. TIME USED: 57 HOURS AND 47 MINUTES. SIXTH TO ARRIVE, EDDWARD GABRIEL. TIME USED: 57 HOURS AND 49 MINUTES. SEVENTH TO ARRIVE, EDWARD STEWART. TIME USED: 57 HOURS AND 51 MINUTES."_

She would rest on the floor and lean against the wall, contemplating what had happened in this Phase and what would happen in the next. _"I wonder... How many Phases are there left for this Exam?" _As minutes went, Buttercup would unknowingly and unwillingly, drift off to sleep from boredom.

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**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**************「 **EXTRA **********」**

**************| Tower of Rebirth |**

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The 1000-year-old Tower of Rebirth has a legendary history behind it dating back to the creation of the Great Empire. It is said that four to five Angels were called down from Heaven to punish the evil King of the Great Empire. 1000 years later, the remains of that empire lie intact but unknown at the bottom. The tower is now used as a prison and torture chamber for war criminals. Some prisoners calls this place 'home' due to the many years of pain and dismal insanity they suffer.

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**************「 **Hidden Blade **********」**

* * *

The iconic weapon of the Hashashin Order, the Hidden Blade was used for both stealthy assassinations and regular combat. It was their most versatile weapon, with multiple upgrades and forms of use. It consisted of a retractable blade, usually in conjunction with a protective bracer. As such, the blade could be discreetly extended or retracted, making it a valuable, yet stealthy piece of apparatus.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Well, well... Another chapter is finished. Thus far, my longest chapter I've written. I'm quite satisfied with the results. I loved both Buttercup and Edd's characterizations, not to mention I loved writing the lemonade drinking contest between Cartman and Edward. I also like the idea of giving Eddy Assassination techniques, originally I intended to give him some demonic powers or something familiar but I cut that idea as it was too _Devil May Cry-esque_. Hence the Hidden Blade from the _Assassin's Creed_ series. Simply because it is not only badass, but very convenient outside of combat. _  
_

With that aside, two or three more chapters to go of the _Hunter Exams Arc_. Next chapter I am going to introduce Doc and Drew Saturday from _The Secret Saturdays_ series as recommended by Toonking911. I like the idea of them being Examiners of aspiring Hunters. Plus, it'll be funny to see how Johnny'll react to Drew.

Also, I _really _grammatical errors... I've noticed how the Document Manager tends to screw up with a few spellings... Next time before I publish a new chapter I am going to proofread twice or thrice, in case I've missed some mistakes.

Anyway time to answer one of my reviews.

* * *

_Spindash77: Oh that was Johnny test that got offed, good I thought it was Bravo._

_I can understand what you mean when you say this isn't your favorite chapter I mean it really almost feels like filler to get to the better parts when we reach the cooking (Even though that was in the show, but I think bungee jumping for spider eggs helped make up for that.) aside from that minor nitpick, Edward is a platypus not a beaver._

Answer: I've fixed that mistake, thanks. =)

_Toonking911 (I): That product placement at the beginning. Bet Nintendo gave you the big bucks for that. __I saw Chowder being the replacement to Bahara coming though didn't think about Panini as Menchi. What I didn't see coming, though enjoyed immensely, was the Regal Mammoths! Love Toriko! While I must say you didn't totally make their overall size clear._

Answer: I've added a dictionary about them in the previous chapter, in case somebody is interested in their anatomy.

_Toonking911 (II): Kevins role as revealed in the chapter shocked me. Was expecting Eddy and Kevin to be more equals (though I suppose the age difference should have proved that theory wrong) but no, Kevins on a whole other level. __Something you should probably clear up is the strength of the cast. I mean I had already gone and believed the PPGs didn't have their powers. Also, all of the other contestants were able to carry back their mammoths? How physically strong are the characters at this point?_

Answer: The Regal Mammoth weighs about the same mass as that of Mammoths in real life, thus 9,000 kilograms. The characterrs can lift from let's say, 5,000 to 10,000 kilograms. The Powerpuff Girls can lift from 10,000 to 25,000 kilograms. The mass of a truck and a large motorboat. Buttercup is the strongest among the main characters with Bubbles second and Kevin third, if we are not including Blossom who isn't featured into this story arc.

_Toonking911 (III): I have a suggestion for a Phase. Basically a beast hunting phase where each of the contestants are split into small teams, and each team is set out to capture a beast (More Toriko!). You can bring them in dead, but you gain a better advantage in the next phase if you manage to capture it alive. The examiners would be Doc and Drew Saturday._

Answer: I intend to add such Phase if I am not changing my mind.

Toonking911 (IV): _Next up I believe, if we're still going further in the way of Hunter X Hunter, the unveiling of the Hunter Associations Chairmen...I wonder who it'll be..._

Answer: You'll figure it out very soon!

_KevEddFan808: I just wanted to say that I was a little skeptical when I first read the title and the story summary. But I'm glad I decided to check out the story. I really got hooked on the first chapter. I definitely can wait for the next chapter._

_I have a question: what is Nen?_  
_You addressed it in one of your responses to a review._

_That's all from me. Can't wait for more_

Answer: Hello, and thank you for taking your time reading Ed Edd n Eddy X! I truly appreciate it, really! =D

As for your question, Nen is a energy component that allows the characters to perform superhuman acts. It is familiar with that of _Naruto's_ Chakra or _Dragon Ball Z's _Ki. Except it is a lot more diverse and sophisticated. I'll go into further details about Nen during the second story arc.

* * *

Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions/requests for potential future main or major characters in your mind, feel free to leave it in your review or message me. I can not gurantee you that I will fulfill your request, but I will do my best. With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


	8. Chapter VII: The Fourth Phase

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Ed Edd n Eddy, Hunter x Hunter or any characters featured in this Fanfiction nor their series. All copyright goes to Danny Antonucci, Yoshihiro Togashi and each respectively owner.**

**I changed made some changes in the previous Chapter, _"The Third Phase"_. Hopefully, I made it for the best if not worst. With that said, enjoy the story!**

* * *

_**Table of Fonts**_

* * *

Standard Text - Regular Dialogue & Storytelling.

_Italics _- Emphasis & Thoughts

**Bold **- Dialogue of Power.

**Bold with**** Underlines** - Special Techniques.**  
**

**_Bold with Italics _**- Dialogue of Mystery & Sound Effects.

Underline - Dream.

_Italics with Underlines _- Flashback.

* * *

**｢ 21th July, Tower of Rebirth, United States ****｣**

**| Morning |**

******************｟ 09:45 AM ｠**

* * *

The sun was shining and a comfortable wind blowing. Buttercup looked from the hole she had made in the wall to the other participants who were waiting in the room, thinking about how few managed to get down to the base, only nineteen.

The following participants who waiting were included herself, Bubbles, Dexter, Dee Dee, Johnny, Kevin, Rolf, Nazz, Timmy, Ed, Edd, Eddy, Edward, Lazlo and some people she is not familiar with.

**_Ping!_**

They heard a loud noise throughout the room and turned their attention towards the intercom hanging on the wall. From what she was informed from one of the gossiping participants, the person speaking through it was a Blacklist Hunter. _"The Third Phase of the Hunter Exam is over. Nineteen applicants have passed. Please board the airship. It will bring you to your next destination."_

With those words said, Edd stood up from the floor and stretched his aching body. Not doing any activities all day was not healthy for his body. All participants left the Tower of Rebirth through a hole and boarded the airship for only half an hour before they landed once again. Now they were standing before the sea, in the distance they could see a little island.

A rather beautiful woman descended from the airship and halted right before them. Her hair white hair was long and her skin was pale as snow. She was smiling faintly at the contestants.

"Well, helloooo... He like it like dat!" Johnny exclaimed, awestruck.

"Congratulations to the nineteen participants who managed to escape the Tower of Rebirth. Only the Fourth Phase and the Final Phase shall remain. I am Drew Saturday, and I shall be your Examiner for the Fourth Phase."

"Oh boy, two more! I am so excited!" Buttercup could hear the boy with the pink nose beside of her muttered and Buttercup realized what was said. Two more Phases and they would finally become Hunters. Hopefully they would not take so long like the last one, it was annoying and time-consuming. The green Powerpuff smirked viciously.

"Hey there, pretty lady." Johnny Bravo said suavely as he approached the white haired beauty. He smiled widely as he leaned against a lamp pole. "What'd you say you come with me and we do a little smoochin'? You know you want to, no one can resist these lips." Then all of a sudden he took off his shirt. "Check these out, baby." He said as he started to flex his abs. "Hee-Ha-Hoo!"

The woman immediately grabbed Johnny's arm and threw him down to the ground, Judo style. "Sorry tough guy, I am happily married."

Johnny would nod his head abruptly. Before he got the chance to get on his feet, the young man was met with a gun pressed on his throat. "Let this be a warning to you, boy... Don't even think of touching my woman. Ever." He glared at Johnny who nodded his head, sweating like bullets. Removing the gun from Johnny's throat, the man would turn his eyes to the contestants.

"I am Doc Saturday, the _husband_ of Drew." He said the husband part with great emphasis as everyone would set their eyes on Johnny for a brief moment. "And Co-Examiner of the Fourth Phase. The Fourth Phase will take place over there on the Al Jazeera islands." He said, pointing his index finger towards a small island.

Someone - tall, furry, long ears, combination of a cat and gorilla - shoved a hip-high metal construction with a box on top of it towards Doc and Drew. The box was jet black colored with blue arrows pointing from one side to the other. "I will need you to draw lots." Doc announced. Everyone was confused and they started to murmur to each other. _"Why the hell not?"_ Buttercup thought, shrugging her shoulders.

"What are those for?" Dee Dee asked curiously, tilting her head. The gorilla-cat grinned happily as he responded. "To we can decide who will hunt and who will be hunted." Doc pointed at the box besides him. "In here are nineteen numbered cards. In other words, your identification numbers are on the cards. Now I need you each to draw a card, in the order by which you exited the tower."

"Mandy Valentine, please step up." They all looked at the scarlet eyed girl who scoffed as she walked up to the box and drew a blue ribbon. She would thereafter turn around and walk back to the boy with the pink nose.

Kevin was next, then Buttercup, Dexter, Ed, Edd, Eddy, Edward, Johnny, Dee Dee, Lazlo, Timmy, Nazz then finally the boy with the pink nose named Billy and then other unimportant side characters.

"Everyone's taken a card?" Drew asked rhetorically as everyone would nod their heads. "Then remove the seal from your card." Dee Dee looked at her card again, after removing the blank sticky paper. She had the number 151. She showed it to younger brother.

"Do you know who this is?" The golden haired girl asked Dexter.

"Yes, I do. Participant number 151, Squidward Tentacles, bald, red eyes, olive green cap, light blue pullover, not that tall or muscular. Danger Level: Minimal." The red haired boy said, adjusting his glasses. "He should be no problem for you to handle."

"What about you?" Dee Dee enquired as she looked at the Boy Genius' card. He has drawn the number 124.

"I have drawn number 100, Irwin Jackson, black hair, dark brown eyes. He's not that tall or muscular, fairly chubby. Danger Level: Minimal." Dexter responded as Dee Dee looks cheerfully around for her opponent in this Phase."

Dexter also looked around, everyone was either staring seriously at their cards or removing their numbers from their vest, t-shirts, etcetera. He let his be, it did not matter who his opponent was, he would never managed to even touch his plate as long as it was with him. After all, the power of science is unconquered.

"The card indicates your target." Drew added in. The last few people removed their plates after finally catching on. "This box has a recorder which card each of you drew. This means that you are free to dispose of the cards if you wish. The objective is to steal your target's ID tag."

"Oh, so we don't have to kill each other?" Squidward asked, a hopeful expression grew on his face.

"Naturally, you are free to use any method as you please to steal the ID tags. Including killing your target and taking the tag off their corpse." Drew answered, which made some of the participants flinch in shock.

"That sounds like... The fastest method." Mandy stated, nodding her head to herself.

"Yup!" Billy exclaimed, a wide smile crept across his face.

"Holy crap... You drew the worst card you could get Double D." Ed commented, eyes widened.

"Dude..." Eddy added in, just as shocked as Ed.

_"No... No... No... No... NO!" _Edd thought, eyes widened. His legs were starting to tremble. His expression held mixed feelings, anxiety, horror, shock and so forth. He was sweating bullets, they fell like rain droplets. He has drawn the number, 24, which was Mandy. _"I got the scarlet eyed girl as my target... NO!" _

"Your target's ID tag is worth three points. Your own ID is also worth three points. All other ID tags are worth one point. You need six points to advance to the Final Phase. So while on the Al Jazeera, you must gather enough ID tags to total six points. If you haven't snatched your target's ID tag in a week, you're out." Drew explained.

"That is the condition for clearing the Hunter Exam's Fourth Phase." Doc added in, easy for everyone to understand. Either people managed to get their target's card or three others, or if they lost their own, they were still in the game and allowed to steal form others.

_"Intriguing game."_ Edward thought. The Examiners went silent after their explanation and turned around to walk onto the little board just a few meters from them.

They all sat down on deck and waited until it brought them to the Island where the game would take place. It was dead silent on the boat. By now, everyone had taken off their ID tags and hid it somewhere. Suspicious glances and wary looks were exchanged. _"Looks like everyone turned into enemies here." _Timmy thought.

* * *

**｢ Two Hours Later ****｣**

**｟ 11:45 AM ｠**

* * *

They had entered the island in the order of which they had finished the challenge of the Tower of Rebirth. So once her number had been called, Buttercup had concentrated her energy to her feet and quickly ran into the forest. She needed to blend in with the scenery and find the tallest tree for her to observe the island.

She ignored the scent of plants and the animals, knowing that she had no time to admire or observe their behaviors, and made her way to the tallest tree that she could find. She quickly climbed the tree, jumping and hoping to the top of the tree. She threw her jacket to the side and squinted her eyes at the scenery in front of her, trying to figure out the best sources of water and food would be.

There was a river near the boat but he couldn't take water from that boat, seeing as it would be easy for her to be ambush. Some of the participants might decide that the best way to get their target was to attack them when they were near the finishing line. So the water near the boat, was definitely out. There was a small lake on her right and it doesn't seem to be too obvious, so she could drink water from there and hunt her lunch and dinner there as well as breakfast.

She watched as her potential target, Kevin, loitered around the area. He awas most likely waiting for Rolf and that Nazz chick to arrive before heading off to find their own targets. _"It had to be the most stupidest thing to do when it comes an exam like this!"_ Waiting for his friends will make him an easy prey and she didn't like that. She wants a challenge and that guy weren't giving it to her. Should she even bother making him her target? Maybe she could just take three other people's targets since they might be more of a challenge for her.

Buttercup slouched against the tree and closed her eyes before taking in a deep breath. There was no metallic scent of a weapon nor the sound of a human being indicating the person targeting her hasn't found her just yet.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**｟ 16:12 PM ｠**

* * *

"Haa... Ha... Ha...!" He was moving too quickly to get a good look at his surroundings, but it wasn't needed. Edd could feel himself running from her, that Mandy girl. He lead himself deep into the island away from all the other participants. There was this sensation everywhere around him, but it did not register. And in an instant, he completely lost her presence.

The goose pimples on his skin smoothed out, and he was suddenly aware that her entire body had been slashed by thin branches. A thin film of sweat was on his skin, and as he slowed down his pace to stop, he realized he was also out of breath. She'd lead him on to wear her out, to feed off his excitement for only a moment before leaving without a trace. And he had fallen for it.

"DAMN IT ALL!" He cursed loud enough to send birds flying from the treetops, and then he kicked a tree so hard that the bark splintered. His fists clenched and he looked around with a scowl on his face. He couldn't be sure if she was close, and that made him feel uncomfortable. His forest green eyes were full of frustration and great turmoil.

Edd's eyes drifted up, and his head fell back. He has never been on the Al Jazeera island before, but there was something familiar about the scenery. The lush green trees that towered over his body, making him feel small and insignificant; the small patches of sunlight on an overgrown path and the spots of blue sky. He remembered having lived in a place much like Al Jazeera island. It reminded him of Peach Creek.

That memory led to when he set his eyes on the scarlet eyed girl who was now her target. He hissed and shook his head, slapping both hands to his cheeks and then dropping down into a fetal position.

His fingers dug themselves into his scalp, his eyes were wide open. He was scared, he was frightened of his life. This girl emitted a dark aura while gazing at him.

"Damn it..." Tears were swollen in both of his eyes, and he realized with sickening certainty that this was more than just a Phase for passing the Hunter Exam; this was the ability to face his fears and survival.

The weak will die and the strong will survive. Edd's head tilted back a bit and he looked up the treetops for a moment. He would have to face this girl, that was inevitable. For now, though, he was going to run from her like he did back in Peach Creek whenever the Ed Boys' scam failed.

* * *

**｢ Four Days Later ****｣**

**｟ 14:20 PM ｠**

* * *

Eddy didn't want to admit it in front of everyone, but he was worried about Edd. He had been wandering for a total of four days now. He'd already collected his plates, and thus was simply waiting the rest of the week out. If he had to be honest, he was tempted to go looking for him and see how he was doing.

He missed them, he missed both Ed and Edd. He missed his best friends. The separation he felt toward Edd was different. When he thought of Ed and how he was surely faring, Eddy figured he would be alright. Surely, his target was big and muscular, but the orange haired Ed boy could be remarkably unpredictable. That was something he learned years ago.

On the other hand, when he tried to picture the ski-hat wearing Ed boy fighting off an enigmatic girl with a aura as dark as night, he could only feel a thrill of terror. And Eddy did _not_ like to be afraid.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**｟ 16:24 PM ｠**

* * *

Four days have passed since Ed last saw Edd and Eddy. In those five days, Ed has snatched all of his targets plates. However, he hasn't seen or sensed the person targeting him in the last couple of days. A good thing too because he didn't want to get into anymore fights but then again, the last fight he had wasn't even that good. The orange haired Ed boy was just too strong for that muscular man. He was all talk, but no action. His target was comparable to a professional wrestler.

Oh well, he could always fight the person that was watching him. Yes, watching him. For the few days, he had sensed someone watching him over the course of the Phase.

The person didn't want to fight him that much he was certain because the person would have attack him, the moment he fell asleep. It doesn't help that he hasn't sensed the person's presence, which leads him to believe that the person had another reason for watching him but for what reason, he doesn't know.

"Maaaan... I just wanna go home and sleep on my bed... Watch some zombie films and eat gravy..."

* * *

**｢ One Day Later ****｣**

**｟ 13:25 PM ｠**

* * *

Meanwhile, Edd decided to follow Mandy for a whole day. He had no choice but to snatch her plate and get this over with. He took a hand-made bamboo bow and a small arrow along with him. A long string was tied to said arrow. Luckily, the forest held a lot of resources he could use. The bow and arrow were crafted with the following materials: bamboo, lianas, a stick and a sharpened stone.

He had been hiding behind some bushes for a couple of hours now, there was a good distance between him and her of thirty meters. He had to snatch the girl's plate with this single arrow on his hand. It was a all-or-nothing gamble.

He has also seen three people about their age. The first one was a girl with dark red hair in curly poofs on two sides of her head. She had freckles on her face. The next person was a boy, he was tall, thin, and extremely pale, with red eyes and spiky red hair. The last person was a boy with black hair, he wore a pair of glasses and was short, skinny and pale as well.

Edd had a hard time not jumping immediately to Mandy and snatch her plate with them around. All he could do no was wait and watch Mandy converse with the other youngsters, whatever the heck they were talking about. Edd's blank eyes would stare intently at Mandy who was conversing with those strangers.

* * *

**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**｟ 15:25 PM ｠**

* * *

The ski-hat wearing Ed boy swallowed a huge lump, he would tighten his grip of the bow thereafter watching the strangers leave Mandy behind. _"Alright, this is now or never... This one arrow will decide everything..." _The boy thought, shutting his eyes closed. He would inhale the summer air and thereafter exhale it. He was taking deep breaths to regain his composure. Soon after, he would open his eyes wide open.

_"It's now or never..." _Edd thought, swallowing a huge lump. He extended his bow and prepared an arrow, ready to shoot Mandy's plate off of her chest. Arrows require a lot more concentration, precision and skill to shoot. He breathed, squitting his eyes shut as he prepared to unleash the arrow knocked back in his bow. _"NOW!" _Edd thought, eyes wide open once again. The golden haired Ed boy fired his arrow.

**_Fwooosh!_**

The arrow was now moving at an incredible speed. It was heading towards Mandy in a rapid speed which would even give The Flash trouble. When Mandy was about to move an inch, Edd's arrow hit her plate! _"Yes!" _It flew off of her chest and back towards Edd who stood there for a few moments in shock, he was panting heavily. He was now holding Mandy's plate. His heart was beating in a rapid pace.

"..." Mandy turned her head and faced Edd, eyes widened. She would thereafter start to walk towards him, slow and steadly. Edd started to sweat like bullets, his feet were trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't get himself to move, he was frozen. Frozen with terror. The girl's bloody red eyes pierced glew, she emitted a dark and sinister aura making Edd breathe heavily a couple of times; forcing the air in and out of his lungs.

_"Run... Run... RUN YOU IDIOT OR DO YOU WANT TO GET KILLED?!" _Finally, Edd managed to get his legs to cooperate and ran like hell.

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**｢ Several Hours Later ****｣**

**｟ 15:35 PM ｠**

* * *

He kept running while looking at the plate, happy that he finally got his target yet terrified to the fact that she was chasing him. _"I... I did it... Ed... Eddy! I am still in the game! Wait for me you guys!"_

**_Swooosh... _**

**_..._**

**_BAM!_**

"!" Then the unthinkable happened; out of nowhere something hits him in the chest. It was a iron arrow. His eyes were wide open like dinner plates, he started to cough and blood gushed out of his mouth. "Blarp!" He staggered into a clearing nearby. He collapsed on the ground, Mandy's plate mere inches from his hand. Edd would cough up blood once again, his eyes were heavy, the world around him was starting to spin in circle. _"W... Who... Shot me...?"_

"Phew! This guy was only a second away from escaping!" A masculine voice exclaimed, leaving his hiding spot to reveal himself. It was that Billy kid who shot him. "Gotta give it to him, I never thought he, out of all the other participants would snatch your plate." He said, looking down at Edd with a goofy grin. He would thereafter proceed to take his plate which he had placed on his bag. "Here." Billy said, throwing the plates towards Mandy who caught them easily.

"It's no big surprise. Causality has chosen him and his other two friends, after all." Mandy responded as she would take a glance at Edd, red eyes met green.

"You were better than I expected. I never thought you would manage to snatch my plate. You got guts, I like that." The golden haired girl admitted as she jerked the arrow, removing it from Edd's chest.

"ARRRRRGHHH!" Edd's body stiffened, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Startled birds scattered from the trees and flew away into the waning dusk.

"Don't worry, you will survive despite the arrow being poisonous." She stated nonchalantly, her expression was unfazed. "Causality will not allow you to die... Yet. You have been chosen." She said, turning away from the ski-hat wearing Ed boy as she would head off into the forest of Al Jazeera island.

"Sorry 'bout this, I was only helping my friend to pass this Phase. No hard feelings!" Billy whispered as he turned away to follow Mandy. "Better luck next time!"

"Blarp!" Edd would once again cough up blood, his body was trembling in terror by the sight of blood. _His_ blood. It was as red as a tomato, as red as a rose. _"Damn it all..."_ The ski-hat wearing Ed boy thought, Edd felt his eyes growing heavier as his heart slowed.

The bright sun illuminating him seemed so dim to his tired haze filled eyes. The allure of darkness, the allure of the eternal sleep seemed irresistible. Laval's internal organs started to burst one by one. At this point, he couldn't even speak aloud; let alone think clearly anymore.

_"My internal organs are damaged... I can't even let out one final scream..."_ Soon after that thought, Edd was floating in a peaceful sea of unconsciousness. His eyes were shut closed with one final thought racing through his mind. _"My friends... Continue on with this Exam without me..."_

* * *

**************「 **TO BE CONTINUED **********」**

* * *

**_Author's__ Note: _**Phew! Another chapter finished! Thus far, it was my second least favorite chapter to write of the _Hunter Exams Arc_ along with the Second Phase. Nothing exciting happens there aside from Edd and Mandy. Honestly, this chapter feels more filler-ish to let the plot progress. I wasn't very enthusiastic writing this chapter. Though, I loved writing Edd, Billy and Mandy's part! One more chapter left of the _Hunter Exams Arc_, then onto the second story arc!

I was contemplating whether or not every main character should pass the Hunter Exam or not. I decided to let Edd fail for the sake of character development. That, and I could not imagine Edd being a Hunter.

It just doesn't go well with his personality considering the fact he's the only Ed boy with common senses. To those of you who wanted to see Edd become a Hunter, my sincerest apologies.

Anyway, time to answer my reviewers' questions.

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**************「 **REVIEWS **********」**

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Toonking911 (I): _Another phase of the exam come and gone, and more crossover stacked up. I wasn't crazy about Eddys back story as a Assassin, though at least it was done differently then Killua. Also explains why his mother gave him a bit of a beating after saying he wanted to take the Hunter Exam, as stated in chapter 2. _

_Eddy mentions his grandma being the one telling him all the info about his parents, and in chapter 2 he also states his grandpa was fine with him taking the Exam. Pretty much adds up to me making the assumption that Eddy lives with his mother and grandparents. _

Answer: I wasn't really crazy about that concept likewise, but I decided to do that in request of silvertailsGX, one of my friends. Though, Eddy's background will be different from Killua's. I can gurantee you that.

Toonking911 (II): _Buttercup beating Pete was pretty obvious (though she did it in Makunoichi Ippo's signature stance none the less), though surprisingly dark. Edward besting Cartmen was funny, though very odd thrown into the otherwise series and dark matches. Also capsules, hah. Also like how Edward didn't turn out to be like Tonpa like I assumed. Dexter taking 20 hours in a chess match seemed very HxH to me. _

Answer: Edward may have his jerkass moments, but he is nothing like Tonpa. Unlike Tonpa, Edward genuinely aspires to become a Hunter. As for Dexter, I wanted to write his chess match but I decided to cut that off as it would get too boring for people to read.

Toonking911 (III): _On to Eddys match...honestly didn't really like it. It was a pretty straight forward rehash of Killuas match against Johness. Would have further enjoyed him soundly killing Bryan in some other manner, while clearing up the Assassination abilities he has. I also don't understand why Buttercup was the most phased by this. She just shattered the torso bones of a guy a earlier in the chapter without a blink. Would have thought Edward or Dexter would have been more phased._

Answer: I changed the match, I admit it was pretty straight forward myself. I changed his fighting style into that of Ezio Auditore's of Assassin's Creed, just in a more dark punk manner. I changed the description about Buttercup and replaced her with Dexter. I could really not see her being that shocked neither. Disgusted, yes. But scared? No.

Toonking911 (IV): _I enjoyed Buttercup internally thinking of everyone as her friends. Though it was a bit rushed, we haven't seen her interact with some of them all that much. Edds willingness to fail the exam for the sake of everyone else was really cool, and so was the Eds denying this idea. And then we have Ed being Gon._

Answer: I removed that part, it was as you said, too rushed and too early for her to consider the Ed Boys and Company as friends. Maybe later during the second story arc.

Toonking911 (V): _Their are also numerous little grammatical errors about. Like Edd states he wants to become a Hunter so he can get money to become a Hunter. Just little things._

Answer: I've fixed those errors. The Fan Fiction website tends to screw around with grammar at times.

Toonking911 (VI): _In response to your response to my review, using OBD terms I see. And Kevin is above Rolf...hmmm can't wait to see what he's capable of. Glad you found my idea for the next phase to your liking, can't wait to read the next chapter. _

Answer: I may not be the biggest fan of the Outskirts Battledome, but I admit some of their terms comes in handy. _Some_, but not everything. And you'll see what Kevin is capable of during the second story arc. Also, I apologize for not using the Beast Hunting Phase. I mainly added the Plate Hunting Phase to let Double D lose. Though, I will add a Beast Hunting chapter. I can't tell when, but it'll be in the third story arc.

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Anyway, beside of that, reviews are appreciated! They give me the motivation and confidence to continue writing this story further. Plus, it gives me the motivation to write faster! Let it be a constructive criticism or praise. They are very appreciated.

Also, go check out Ed Edd n Eddy X's official website I posted on my profile! There you can read the story with pictures! Also, I will publicize future chapters there before I post them here on the FanFiction website.

With that said, I hope to see you guys on the next chapter of _Ed Edd n Eddy X_! Until then, stay tuned!


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